Synagogue in Karlovy Vary, Religious building in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
The Synagogue in Karlovy Vary, called Tempel, stood on Sadová třída from 1877 to 1938. Stuttgart architect Adolf Wolff designed it in an eclectic Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic style, built by Prague contractor Franz Schön: 36 m long, 22 m wide, 40 m high, with one main and two smaller side domes, seating 1,200.
The building was constructed between 1875 and 1877 and served as a center of religious life until its destruction by Nazi forces in 1938. This destruction coincided with broader attacks on Jewish institutions across the region.
The synagogue was known as the Tempel, and its last rabbi, Ignaz Ziegler, served from 1888 until his dismissal in autumn 1938. Karlovy Vary's Jewish community also produced the Moser glassworks, founded by Ludwig Moser in 1857, and the Becherovka liqueur firm.
The synagogue stood on Sadová Street; the hotel Bristol (built 1984–1985, formerly Družba) now occupies the site, with a memorial plaque on its left side. A short walk away stands the memorial to Jewish victims of Nazism. The site is in the spa centre, reachable on foot.
The synagogue's last rabbi, Ignaz Ziegler, served from 1888 until his dismissal in autumn 1938, and the building could hold up to 1,200 worshippers. Its site on Sadová Street is now occupied by the Bristol hotel, which carries a memorial plaque; a separate monument to the synagogue and Holocaust victims was built in 1957.
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