Synagogue

Merely one year later, in 1872, construction work began for the enlargement of the synagogue; these finalized in 1873. The original prayer-room, erected in 1971, was now used for other purposes; in 1938 it served as the seat of the Jewish Community of Baden, and as a classroom for religious lessons. The planning of the large synagogue, as well as the adding of a second staircase, is attributed to Baden's master builder Franz Breyer.

The main hall of 170 m², furnished with benches, served as the men's prayer-room and was accessible by means of a tiled vestibule. An elevated stand, surrounded by a cast-iron lattice, was set in the center of the back wall; behind it the shrine (Aron haKodesh) containing the Torah. The main hall was two-storied; the upper story, which embodied the women's room, consisted of a gallery accessible by a spiral staircase at the left and a regular staircase at the right. The gallery was supported by six cast-iron pillars, which have survived to this day.

The synagogue's roof is a construction of steel beams spanning the top of the building and covered with wooden tiles. This encasement bestows the room with a somewhat boxy appearance.

The synagogue was in use until 1938. In the Kristallnacht, the building fell victim to the Nazi mob. It was emptied and made accessible to the National Socialist Party. In 1940, the gallery was separated from the main hall by a network of crossbeams existing to this day, creating two separate stories. After the liquidation of the Jewish Community of Baden in the same year, the estate was "purchased" by the Municipalty of Baden.

After the Second World War came to its close, the buildings at Grabengasse 14 were used as a storage-room by the Soviet occupants. Since the Jewish Community of Vienna was viewed as the successor of the Jewish Community of Baden, the Municipalty of Baden granted the estate to the former, and did not work to restore the buildings.

The few surviving Jews of Baden lacked the means to install the original purpose of the buildings, and thus during the 1950s the services were held at the Esplanade Sanatorium.

In 1963, the building to the left of the courtyard, which had last served the Jewish Community of Baden as conference hall and school of religion, was adapted to the purpose of prayer-room and has since been used for services and festivities. It was renovated in 1989 and 1999.

In 1988, the original large synagogue was to be demolished due to lack of funding means for the renovation and maintenance of this historical building. An initiative by the activists Peter D. Eggenhofer, Georg Chaimowicz and Eliezer Rosen and the resulting broad interest of local and foreign media finally averted the demolition. The following years saw recurring negotiations between representatives of the Jewish communities of Vienna and Baden on one side, and the Municipality of Baden and the District of Lower Austria on the other. The goal of these negotiations was to finance the renovation of the building via public means.

At his inauguration in 1998, the President of the Jewish Community of Vienna, Dr. Ariel Muzicant, declared the renovation of the Baden Synagogue as one of his goals, and intensified the existing efforts to do so. The concept has been presented to the Municipality of Baden and the District of Lower Austria, and an official decision is expected by the end of 2002 at the latest.