Neue Synagogue

Situated in the Scheunenviertel district (Barn Quarter), it lies in the heart of the then large Jewish district.

Construction of the 'New Synagogue' started in 1859 and it was completed 7 years later.
The design by Eduard Knoblauch, in a neo-byzantine style with Moorish influences, was complicated by the asymmetrical shape of the plot. State of the art construction techniques were used to construct the galleries and 50m high gilded dome.

During the infamous Kristallnacht pogrom on 9-10 November 1938, the synagogue was desecrated by the nazis, and it was destroyed in 1943 by allied bombing. The building was finally demolished in 1958 but it wasn't until after the fall of the Berlin Wall that the reconstruction started.
In May 1995, the reconstructed synagogue was finally completed, triggering a revival of the whole Scheunenviertel district. It is now a lively district with many restaurants and cafés.