Jewish temple and school at the Grieskai (former synagogue Graz) Anonymous, around 1900

A Place of Worship for 46 Years

The synagogue at Grieskai was Samuel Mühsam’s—the first rabbi of the Jewish Community of Graz, which was founded in 1869—lifetime achievement. On the occasion of the Jewish New Year in 1892, the domed brick building, the conception of which was based on the synagogue built by Gottfried Semper in Dresden, was ceremoniously opened. The Jewish population reached its historic peak in Graz in 1910 with almost 2,000 members. As from 1938, the Jews were deported, the synagogue was set on fire and, in 1940, Graz was declared the first “Jew-free city” in the Eastern March.