Moving things

In the past decades, visiting the Ehemalige Synagoge (former synagogue) was only possible to a limited extent. Beginning in the spring of 2024, the Art Nouveau jewel will shine in new splendour as a modern centre for exhibitions, cultural events and historical education and will be barrier-free accessible on all levels. 

The synagogue room impresses with its dome, the women’s gallery, the Torah shrine and, above all, the colourful wall ornaments. Other ritual building components and the colourful windows, however, were irretrievably destroyed. A permanent presentation will fill these gaps, but also trace the history of the community and keep alive the memory of its members.  

“Dinge bewegen. Gegenstände und ihre jüdischen Geschichten” (moving things. objects and their Jewish stories) 

People are on the move, whether voluntarily or by force. They take things with them and leave things behind which they associate with home, family and culture. They move things from one place to another, but these things, especially those left behind, also move emotionally – everyday objects become symbols of loss and objects of remembrance. 

The first temporary exhibition in the upper women’s gallery of the Ehemalige Synagoge St. Pölten illustrates this by means of a number of objects. Their Jewish owners were persecuted and expelled by the National Socialists. These things are thus witnesses to a history of violence or even affected by violence themselves and entail another movement: their use and meaning changes when, for example, a ritual object becomes a museum piece.  

Finally, the exhibition focuses on material change in things, on upcycling: a Hanukkah Menorah made from a bicycle chain stands for sustainability and responsibility for healing the world.