Hollandse Synagoge

Orthodox synagogue in Antwerp, Belgium

51°12′28″N 4°23′49″E / 51.207772°N 4.396980°E / 51.207772; 4.396980ArchitectureArchitect(s)Joseph HertogsTypeSynagogue architectureStyleMoorish RevivalDate established1816 (as a congregation)Completed1893Dome(s)TwoWebsiteshomre-hadas.be

The Hollandse Synagoge (English: Dutch Synagogue), officially the Synagogue Shomré Hadas, and also known as the Bouwmeester Synagoge,^[a] is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Bouwmeestersstraat 7, in Antwerp, Belgium. Whilst the first Jews arrived in Antwerp in the 14th century, the congregation was not officially established until 1816. Descendants of Jews who came to Antwerp from the Netherlands in the early 19th century, built the synagogue in 1893^[1] and it was the first large synagogue in Antwerp.^{[citation needed]}

History

Designed by Jewish architect Joseph Hertogs^[2] in the Moorish Revival style,^[3]^[4] the synagogue was inaugurated on Bouwmeestersstraat 7, in 1893.

Severely damaged by bombings during World War II, in 1944 the building was hit by a Nazi V1 flying bomb, and was entirely renovated in 1958.^[1] Although commissioned by an Orthodox Jewish community, the synagogue has a pipe organ built in the balcony, similar to the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary.

The building was listed as a protected monument on 17 September 1976.^[5]

The synagogue is used on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and for Shabbat morning services only.

Notes

^ The building is also known in Antwerp as the Hoofdsynagogue or Main Synagogue.

References

^ ^a ^b "Hollandse Synagogue" (moving image of 360° view of the synagogue interior). Synagogues360. 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
^ "Beknopte Biografie van Joseph Hertogs" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
^ Krinsky, Carol Herselle (1996). Synagogues of Europe: architecture, history, meaning. Mineola, NY: Dover. pp. 256–257. ISBN 978-0-486-29078-2 – via Google Books.
^ Kalmar, Ivan Davidson (2001). "Moorish Style: Orientalism, the Jews, and Synagogue Architecture" (PDF). Jewish Social Studies. 7 (3): 68–100. doi:10.2979/JSS.2001.7.3.68. hdl:1807/35319. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2008.
^ Vlaams Instituut voor het Onroerend Erfgoed. "De Inventaris van het Bouwkundig Erfgoed - Joodse Synagoge (ID: 6324)" [Inventory of Architectural Heritage - Jewish synagogue (ID: 6324)] (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 June 2011.