The Fabric Synagogue (), also called the New Synagogue, is a former
Neolog Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, located at 2 Ion Luca Caragiale Street, in the
Fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...
district of
Timișoara
Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. Designed by
Lipót Baumhorn in an
eclectic mixture of
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...
,
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
and
Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...
stylistic elements, the synagogue was completed in 1899.
[
The synagogue is included on the National Register of Historic Monuments in Romania,][ and, in 2022, was placed on the World Monuments Fund list of buildings deemed at particularly high risk.] The New Synagogue replaced the old synagogue on Timocului Street. Not used as a synagogue since 1985, the building fell into disrepair and , the building was undergoing restoration by the Timișoara City Hall for use as a cultural center
A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run.
Africa
* ...
.[
]
History
The year of the foundation of the first synagogue on this site is disputed. Some opinions date it to 1838, others to 1841. The temple was first opened for a Jewish community that, after 1870, joined the so-called ''status quo ante'' trend of Hungarian and Transylvanian Judaism. A dozen years later, this community became Neolog. It was located on Kunz Embankment, on the banks of the Bega Canal
The Bega Canal or Begej Canal (; ) is a navigation canal of Romania and Serbia. It is the first navigation canal built on the present-day territory of Romania, and serves the city of Timișoara. Its name comes from the Bega river. It crosses the ...
, next to the Archduke's House, built after 1868, and the Josef Kunz Palace (1892), which were "the symbolic monumental gateway to the Fabric district".
The Fabric Synagogue was built according to a project by the Hungarian architect Lipót Baumhorn, who designed, among other things, the Neolog synagogues in Brașov
Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County.
According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
and Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
. The new building was designed according to the tradition of the great contemporary Neolog synagogues of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
, it is similar in shape to the synagogues in Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
, Szolnok
Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...
and Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...
, built according to the plans of the same architect. Delighted by the plan, the Jews of Fabric formed a temple construction committee, chaired by David Blau, a spirit maker. Sándor Kohn, the sales representative and lawyer of the brick company ''Kunz and Partners'', and Miksa Steiner, the owner of a lye factory, also played a major role. It is interesting that part of the financing of the construction was covered by a lottery organized by the City Hall. The work was entrusted to the Timișoara entrepreneur Josef Kremer. The synagogue was inaugurated on 3 September 1899, with a sermon by Rabbi Jakab Singer, in the presence of the head of the community, Bernát Deutsch, and the mayor of Timișoara, Carol Telbisz. The organ was built by the famous Timișoara craftsman .
During the war years, after the confiscation of the school premises, the courses of the Israelite High School continued, for a time, inside the synagogue. The synagogue fell into decay at the end of the communist period, closing in 1985 as most of the Jews left in the city after World War II emigrated to Israel. It was closed for 24 years, during which time it was vandalized several times and several valuables, such as sculptures or pieces of furniture, were stolen. In 2009, because it had no money for renovation and the synagogue was in an advanced state of decay, the Jewish Community of Timișoara ceded the synagogue for a period of 35 years to the Timișoara National Theatre, which wanted to turn it into a performance hall. The theatre company had seven years to complete the project, but due to lack of funds, it had to give up. In 2018, the synagogue was taken over by the Timișoara City Hall (for a period of 40 years), which promised to transform it into an unconventional cultural space. Since nothing has changed, the synagogue returned to the Jewish Community of Timișoara in 2020. It was taken over again by Timișoara City Hall in 2023 for maintenance, rehabilitation and restoration in order to transform it into a tourist and cultural objective.
Architecture
Fabric Synagogue is one of the most beautiful buildings in Timișoara, notable for its very rich decorative ensemble. Its plan is square, with a central dome that connects to the outer walls through semicircular arches. The central dome rests on an octagonal tambour, made of plastered and painted wood. The building also stands out through its small domes and towers, and on the polychrome facades the plaster alternates with the apparent red-yellow brick ('' Klinkersteine'').
The Fabric Synagogue features neo-Moorish elements combined with Gothic and neo-Renaissance elements. The height of the building is marked by the adjoining columns, and the upper part is provided with decorative railings. The building has two entrances, one for women and one for men. The one for women is on the street, and from it one can get upstairs. Upstairs is also the organ
Organ and organs may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function
* Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body.
Musical instruments
...
. The men have the entrance through a vestibule (''pulish''), and from here they reach the room reserved for them (''heichal''), where there are several wooden benches.
See also
* History of the Jews in Romania
The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...
* List of synagogues in Romania
References
External links
Virtual tour of the synagogue
Moving panoramic images from the synagogue's interior
(Synagogues360)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabric Synagogue
1840s disestablishments in the Austrian Empire
19th-century synagogues in Romania
Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Romania
Ashkenazi synagogues
Eclectic architecture
Former synagogues in Romania
Gothic Revival architecture in Romania
Gothic Revival synagogues
Historic monuments in Timiș County
Jewish organizations established in the 1840s
Lipót Baumhorn buildings
Moorish Revival architecture in Romania
Moorish Revival synagogues
Neolog synagogues in Romania
Renaissance Revival architecture in Romania
Renaissance Revival synagogues
Synagogue buildings with domes
Synagogues completed in 1899
Synagogues in Timișoara