Reform Judaism and Architecture

The long nineteenth century was marked by social, economic, and political upheavals in Europe. The Jewish society also witnessed a modernizing change, which ultimately led to pluralization within the religious world. Subsequent to the Haskalah, Jewish Enlightenment, and in a complex reciprocal relationship with the emerging science of Judaism (Wissenschaft des Judentums), the Jewish reformers implemented progressive changes within the Jewish liturgy which are also reflected in the architecture of Jewish sacral buildings. Starting with the Jakobstempel in Seesen, this volume Reform Judaism and Architecture illuminates different aspects of Jewish Reform architecture in overviews and case studies.

Mirko Przystawik, Dipl.-Ing., is a scientific staff member of the Bet Tfila – Research Unit, Braunschweig Department. Dr. Andreas Brämer is Assistant Director of the Institute for the History of the German Jews (Institut für die Geschichte der deutschen Juden, IGdJ). Prof. Dr. Harmen H. Thies is Scientific Director (retired) of the Bet Tfila – Research Unit, Braunschweig Department.