Synagoge Winschoten
Two of the building's most striking features are its impressive neoclassical façade and the use of red Groninger bricks. Nothing of the latter can be seen on the outside, by the way.
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Not long after the middle of the eighteenth century, the first Jews came to live in Winschoten. In the nineteenth century, the Jewish community grew...
Not long after the middle of the eighteenth century, the first Jews came to live in Winschoten. In the nineteenth century, the Jewish community here grew so rapidly that it was the second largest Jewish community in the Netherlands after Amsterdam. This also meant that the synagogue on Langestraat (built around 1797) became too small. A new synagogue was therefore built on the Bosstraat. The new building on the Bosstraat was consecrated in 1854. Two of the building's most striking features are its impressive neoclassical façade and the use of red Groninger bricks. On the outside, however, none of the latter can be seen. In fact, the bricks are painted grey and yellow. After the Second World War, the Jewish community in Winschoten was too small to keep the building in town any longer. The synagogue was sold to the Reformed Church Vrijgemaakt, after which a number of changes were made to the interior to make the space suitable for Reformed service. Today, the synagogue is used as a gallery.