Meerssen Synagogue
The former synagogue of Meerssen, the Netherlands, is located in the Kuileneindestraat. The neoclassical brick building was used for worship from 1853 to 1947. The building is a national monument.
History
At the end of the seventeenth century the first Jews settled in Meerssen. Initially, they held their services in a home synagogue on the Beekstraat. This building was owned by a Levie Soesman. After his death, Levie's son Bernard no longer wanted the services in his house and the Meerssen Jews had to look for a new location. Temporarily they could make use of a home synagogue at the Gasthuisstraat, but this building was unsuitable. They wanted a real synagogue.
The synagogue was financed by private capital and by municipal subsidies, which were granted in 1852, under heavy pressure from the provincial government. Architect Johannes Lemmens designed a semi-circular brick neoclassical building with arched windows, which was consecrated on 17 June 1853.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Jewish community of Meerssen had become too small to have its own synagogue. The building was very expensive to maintain, but the Meerssen Jews had worked hard for their shul and it remained in use. However, the Second World War brought a brutal end to the Jewish community of Meerssen: only a few survived the war. In 1947, the synagogue was withdrawn from worship. The inventory went to the synagogue in Maastricht.
After the war the former synagogue was used for various purposes. In 1977 a large part of the building burned down. People did not want the building to be lost, like the other synagogues in Limburg, and a foundation was set up to save the synagogue from final destruction. On March 12, 1989 the synagogue of Meerssen was festively reopened.
At the occasion of this reopening the building was given the famous bronze doors by artist Appie Drielsma. In these doors the names of the founders of the synagogue and the Jewish inhabitants of Meerssen who died during the war are incorporated. Today the former synagogue of Meerssen is home to the Leerhuis Limburg Foundation.
Synagogues in Limburg
The Meerssen synagogue is one of the four remaining synagogue buildings in Dutch Limburg. In Heerlen, a former synagogue on the Stationsstraat is privately owned, as is the synagogue on the Hamstraat in Roermond. The synagogue on the Bogaardenstraat in Maastricht is the only synagogue in Limburg that is still used for worship.
References
This article "Meerssen Synagogue" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Meerssen Synagogue. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
