Synagoge Winschoten
Two of the building’s most striking features are its impressive neoclassical façade and the use of red Groningen bricks. Incidentally, the latter is not visible from the outside.
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Shortly after the mid-eighteenth century, the first Jews came to live in Winschoten. In the nineteenth century, the Jewish community grew…
Not long after the mid-eighteenth century, the first Jews came to live in Winschoten. In the nineteenth century, the Jewish community here grew so rapidly that it became the largest in the Netherlands after Amsterdam. This also meant that the synagogue on Langestraat (built around 1797) had become too small. A new synagogue was therefore built on Bosstraat. In 1854, the new building on Bosstraat was consecrated. Two of the building’s most striking features are its impressive neoclassical façade and the use of red Groningen bricks. Incidentally, there is no sign of the latter on the exterior, as the bricks have been painted grey and yellow. After the Second World War, the Jewish community in Winschoten had become too small to maintain the building any longer. The synagogue was sold to the Reformed Church (Gereformeerde Kerk Vrijgemaakt), after which a number of alterations were made to the interior to adapt the space for Reformed services. Today, the synagogue is used as an art gallery.