Historic Synagogue, circa 1879

The town of Hamelin, Germany, known for the diary of Gluckel of Hameln and the legend of the Pied Piper, was established in 1200. In 1277 seven Jewish families settled in the town, and the community’s first synagogue was built in 1341.

The Jewish population was expelled several times during the 14th through 16th centuries, but some families were allowed to return for economic reasons. By 1877, the Jewish community had grown to approximately 200 individuals. The congregation bought land on the Buerenstrasse where a large synagogue was built by architect Edwin Oppler in 1879. By World War II, several families left for larger cities, leaving the community with 153 members.

During the November 1938 pogrom known as Kristallnacht, the synagogue was destroyed by fire. Members of the community were deported, and a total of 101 members were killed during the Holocaust. None of the surviving members of the community returned.

The New Community

A new community began forming in the 1990s after the German government invited Jewish families living in the Former Soviet Union to immigrate to Germany to towns once settled by Jews. In 1997, Rachel Dohme founded the Reform Jewish Community of Hameln (Jüdische Gemeinde Hameln, JGH) with only seventeen Russian émigrés. Today the first Jewish community in Hameln since World War II has grown to over 200 members and is still growing.

“Synagoge Platz 1” — 1 Synagogue Place, building site for the Hameln Jewish Cultural Center

JGH does not yet have its own full-time Rabbi but benefits from visiting clergy. Thanks to a grant from the European Region of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, rabbinical services are provided two days a month by Rabbi Irit Shillor. The congregation offers religious and social services including adult education, a religious school, and a summer camp.

In November 2001 the community bought the land on the Buerenstrasse where Edwin Oppler’s synagogue once stood (Synagoge Platz 1). The first newly constructed Reform synagogue in post-war Germany was designed by Frank Taylor.

The New Hamelin Cultural Center

The new Hamlen Jewish Cultural Center will be constructed of brick and concrete/stucco and will include a sanctuary with approximately 100 movable seats to allow the space to serve multiple functions. The center will include a seniors’ counselling office, a youth center, and a library.

The point of entry into the synagogue will be on the side of the new oval structure. Seven stained glass windows, visible from the sanctuary, will grace the eastern wall of the synagogue and represent the story of Creation. The current Holocaust memorial will remain in place in front of the synagogue.

We also hope to acquire the caretaker’s cottage, which still remains from the original synagogue, and incorporate it into the center as a gift shop, a café, and rooms that will house visiting scholars. Seating for the café will fill part of the plaza between the two buildings.

Architect’s site plan, detailed floor plan, and second story views. (Move mouse over links to see each view.) The synagogue’s entrance is shown on the lower right of the plans. Architect’s rendering of exterior views:  The synagogue’s entrance is shown in the lower left, south view (Südansicht) rendering.