The next morning we went to visit the Jewish Museum of Vienna. It is located in the centre of the 1st district almost midway between the Stadttempel and the Opera House on Dorotheergasse. Among its exhibitions is "Jewish Vienna - Then and Now" which contrasts the flourishing community in the 18th and 19th century and how the Shoah impacted it.
We eventually reached Judenplatz, the large square right near the main synagogue in town, the Stadttempel that survived the Shoah. In the square is the city's Holocaust memorial and a branch of the Jewish Museum, built on the ruins of a 14th century medieval synagogue.
In front of the Museum in the centre of the square is the stark cubic Shoah memorial and in the floor stones around it are names of places where Austrian Jews lost their lives during the Shoah. Of interest is the plaque that is on the outside wall of the museum which pays tribute to the Righteous Gentiles who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazi slaughter.
After touring the Museum, we headed back into the second district and ate at a Uzbeki kosher restaurant called Bahur Tov, where the food was very tasty. When we finished, we walked through the Jewish district and headed over to one of the local shuls for Mincha and Maariv.
Near the shul was the site of the former Leopoldstadter Tempel, the largest shul in Vienna before the war. Built in 1858 in a Moorish Revival style, it became the model for many large European synagogues including the great Chorale Shul in Budapest. It was destroyed on Kristallnacht. There is nothing left of the shul but in its place the local community has erected large poles that approximate the huge height of the shul, as well as a memorial plaque explaining its history.
This had been a very busy and interesting day; a day filled with memories for those who perished and imagination as to what Vienna might have looked like had the Shoah not occurred.
Tomorrow, our final day and final post for Vienna.
No comments:
Post a Comment