Marburg - Garden of Remembrance | Former Synagogue Design of the site of the former synagogue in Marburg

The design conceives the site of the former synagogue in Marburg as a public "garden of remembrance". A meaningful, emotional place is to be created; a place that loses its current casualness.

The garden is planted with roses in the style of the gardens of ancient Jerusalem. There, the rose was the only flower allowed to be planted within the city walls.

The center of the site is a sculptural frame of light-colored stone that encloses a lawn and two trees like a gallery. To the outside, the frame forms the shape of a parallelogram; to the inside, it shapes a square that precisely traces the synagogue's former meeting room.

Up a narrow staircase, one is led to the pedestal and encounters a glass panel in the floor that offers a glimpse into the earth's interior. Hidden underground are relics of the synagogue; the opening is directly above the well-preserved mikvah. Two old lime trees provide shade, the place radiates tranquility.

The design conceives the memorial as a public garden, a "garden of remembrance". A meaningful, emotional place is to be created, a place that loses its current casualness.

The memorial does not want to hide, it penetrates the city and sets an unmistakable sign in the stony, speedy environment. However, the building is not only intended to remind and admonish, but on the other hand - at the express wish of the Jewish community - also to form a place of everyday life, an attractive open space with quality of stay.

The visitor walking along Universitätsstraße suddenly comes across a widening of the footpath, an elongated square of dark basalt paving. A photograph of the former synagogue is printed on the glass panes of the adjacent bus stop, providing the first clue to the historical significance of this area. Adjacent to the forecourt is a green space, a public garden. It is planted with roses - in ancient Jerusalem the rose was the only flower allowed to be planted within the city walls. The center of the place is a sculptural frame made of white concrete, which encloses a lawn and a tree like a gallery. On the outside, it takes the form of a parallelogram. On the inside, however, the frame forms a square that precisely traces the former meeting room of the synagogue. A narrow staircase leads up to the pedestal, where one encounters a glass plate in the floor that provides a view into the interior. One realizes that relics of the synagogue are still hidden underground: the opening lies directly above the well-preserved mikveh, which was recently excavated. Eyes now turn to the square lawn, which is slightly recessed and forms the centre of the complex. An old lime tree provides shade here, the place radiates tranquility. The memorial stone from 1963 stands in the grass under the trees. Otherwise, the place is empty - almost empty, because glass boxes are embedded in the lawn, in them are notes, printed with large, clear letters. One sits down on the step that the frame has to the lawn and begins to read ...