Center of Jewish Cultual Heritage Synagogue Maribor
Given the role and importance of the Maribor Jewish community, the synagogue in Maribor took the place of one of the most important synagogues in Styria.
The synagogue was not only the religious, but also the spiritual and cultural center of the former Maribor Jewish community. In terms of significance and role, it was certainly the largest and most remarkable building in the Jewish quarter, although as a sanctuary it was relatively small and operated modestly on the outside compared to contemporary Christian churches.
A century of rebuilding
After 1785, when Emperor Joseph II. ordered the church closed, the former synagogue was used as a military warehouse, and after 1811 it became the property of various merchants and artisans. In the 19th century, it underwent even more alterations, which significantly changed its appearance. Inside, it was rebuilt into two floors – the upper ones were arranged for living, the lower ones for basements. At the end of the 1970s and in the first half of the 1980s, an amateur art exhibition was set up in the basement of the former synagogue, and extensive renovation work began in the early 1990s, completed in December 1999.
among many other project the Synanogue works on the following projects:
Project “Pavers of Memory”
As part of the Maribor Synagogue’s initiatives to strengthen the memory of Holocaust victims, in cooperation with the First Gymnasium Maribor and the Maribor Library and with the support of ZRC SAZU, the synagogue formed an initiative that follows European efforts to preserve the historical memory of all victims of National Socialism in 1933-1945. in the history of mankind – the Holocaust.
Project “Show – let’s remember”
All the programs in the project appeal to the public for lasting remembrance and remembrance of the greatest evil of the 20th century; that it would never be forgotten, and above all – that it would never and nowhere be repeated.