The former synagogue in St. Pölten is to be reopened as a cultural and exhibition center in 2024. The renovation, which should cost 4.6 million euros, will begin in the fall.
ORF, March 11, 2022
German original: https://noe.orf.at/stories/3147001/
In April 2021, a lease was concluded between the Jewish community and the Lower Austrian Museum management company as the future operator. The architectural firm Wolfgang Pfoser was commissioned with the renovation. Among the structural measures coordinated with the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments (Bundesdenkmalamt) and based on the original construction plans are barrier-free adaptation, including the installation of an elevator, renovation of the roof and sanitary facilities, and redesign of the entrance area, etc.
The adjoining building, the former choir hall (Kantorhaus), continues to house the office of the Institute for Jewish History in Austria. According to the architect Pfoser, the work should be completed by the end of 2023, with the opening scheduled for spring 2024.
Synagogue as a Cultural Center
The cost of 4.6 million euros will be divided between the federal government, the state, and the city, as announced by provincial governor (Landeshauptfrau) Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP), National Council President (Nationalratspräsident) Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), and mayor Matthias Stadler (SPÖ) at a press briefing.
“Let us open the gates of justice,” read Mikl-Leiter, pointing to the text from Psalms on the façade of the building and placing the renovation of the synagogue in the context of the extensive preparations for the “cultural center” (Kulturschwerpunkt) St. Pölten 2024. The historic Art Nouveau jewel is to function not only as a museum, but also as a “place of encounter” and offer a cultural program “at the highest level.”
Making Jewish Life Visible
Sobotka also welcomed the joint initiative in his function as Chairman of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism: Especially in a time of rising xenophobia and growing anti-Semitism across the world, Austria has a historical responsibility and mandate “to keep alive the memory of the darkest chapter of its history and to make Jewish life visible,” said Sobotka.
Stadler echoed that sentiment: As mayor, he said, he was proud that this special building had been preserved and would now shine in new splendor. For him, the former synagogue is a place “where the terrible effects of dictatorship and our accompanying responsibility, but also the blessing of our democratic freedoms, become tangible.”