Malmö Synagogue

Malmö Synagogue (Swedish: Malmö synagoga, Hebrew: בית הכנסת של מאלמו) is the only synagogue in Malmö, Sweden. It was built in 1903 and designed by the architect John Smedberg. It has an Art Nouveau and Moorish Revival design, which is one of the few synagogues in Europe when most of them were destroyed during Kristallnacht 1938.[1] The services of worship are Orthodox.[2][3] At the inauguration of Malmö Synagogue, it was Malmö's first non-Christian place of worship. Malmö has two Jewish cemeteries: one section in the northern part of Sankt Pauli kyrkogård and another, newer section in Östra kyrkogården.

Malmö Synagogue
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
StatusActive
Location
LocationMalmö, Sweden
Malmö Synagogue is located in Skåne
Malmö Synagogue
Shown within Skåne
Geographic coordinates55°35′58″N 13°00′39″E
Architecture
Architect(s)John Smedberg
TypeSynagogue
StyleArt Nouveau and Moorish Revival
Completed1903
Website
www.jfm.se
The Jewish chapel at the Jewish cemetery section of Sankt Pauli kyrkogård in Malmö

The synagogue attracts about 5,000 yearly visitors.[4]

History

It started in 1871 as the fifth Jewish community established in Sweden after Stockholm, Gothenburg, Norrköping and Karlskrona. The community consisted mostly of immigrants from Germany and Poland and had an initial membership base of 251 people.[5] Later on, more Jews fled from Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states due to poverty, antisemitism and the threat of being drafted into the Imperial Russian Army for 25 years. The first rabbi Joseph Wohlstein was hired in 1900 and the synagogue was built in 1903. During the Second World War Danish Jews fled to Malmö which expanded the community. During the 1970s, the membership peaked with over 2,000 members which was close to 1% of Malmö's population, mostly Jews from Poland due to a state-led anti-Semitic persecution. Ever since 1990, many members began to feel growing anti-Semitic attitudes and sentiments in Malmö and the community has declined to a membership of about 500. In the year 2011, the Egalitarian community was established in parallel with the Orthodox community.

Events

A Holocaust conference was held in Malmö in October 2021. It was an International Forum for the remembrance of the Holocaust and against antisemitism in Malmö.[6] 44 countries participated, including Sweden's prime minister Stefan Löfven and the King of Sweden Carl Gustaf XVI.

In collaboration with Malmö Municipality, the synagogue opened up as a knowledge center in January of 2022.[7]

Attacks

The synagogue was attacked with explosives on July 23, 2010.[8] The explosion was caused with some kind of fireworks or firecracker containing too little gunpowder to seriously damage the building.[9]

The synagogue was attacked with an explosive device on September 28, 2012, shattering a window.[10]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malmö Synagogue.
  1. Malmö museer Archived 2009-06-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Swedish)
  2. Judiska församlingen i Malmö (in Swedish)
  3. Länsstyrelsen i Skåne län Archived 2009-10-04 at the Wayback Machine (in Swedish)
  4. "Synagogan välkomnar besökare på nytt sätt" (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  5. "Jewish Community of Malmö - Our history". Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  6. Nyheter, S. V. T. (13 October 2021). "Holocaust conference in Malmö". SVT Nyheter. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  7. "Synagogan välkomnar besökare på nytt sätt" (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  8. "Malmo Synagogue Rocked by Explosion Archived 2010-07-30 at the Wayback Machine, Dan Verbin, July 27, 2010, Shalom Life.
  9. "Threat and attack against the synagogue of Malmö as Jews leave the Swedish city". European Jewish Press. 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012.
  10. "I natt sprängdes en bomb vid synagogan i Malmö". P4 Stockholm (in Swedish). 28 September 2012.

55°35′58″N 13°00′39″E

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