Foundation Chief Executive Michael Mail recently visited the medieval former synagogue in Korneuburg outside Vienna in Austria.
He was hosted by Klaus Kohler, a former Brigadier General in the Austrian army, who has been leading a campaign to preserve this unique synagogue, one of the oldest in Europe, and turn it into a cultural and educational centre focused on the former Jewish life in the town.
Klaus Kohler together with Michael Mail
The building is currently in private hands and the aim is that the Municipality will purchase the building, which will then enable other public funders to join the project and bring it fully to fruition.
There are two fascinating and ultimately tragic Korneuburg Jewish narratives; the first dating from the medieval period that witnessed the synagogue’s creation, and the second from the modern period until 1939. Both epochs will be covered in the planned new centre.
The Foundation has been featuring Korneuburg synagogue, which it rated as being in the top 16 synagogue sites in Europe most at risk, and has been supporting Klaus in his ongoing efforts to save the building.
The former synagogue in Korneuburg
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