Abstract
The construction of the Great Synagogue in Stockholm during the 1860s initiated Jewish communal debates on the position and public presence of Jews in the Swedish pre-emancipatory society. An investigation into the construction process not only reveals various Jewish opinions on the sacred building, but also the pivotal role of Swedish-Christian actors in shaping the synagogue’s location, architecture, and the way it was presented in the public narrative. The Jewish community’s conceptualization and the Swedish society’s reception of the new synagogue turned it into a space on the ‘frontier.’ Conceptually situated in-between the Jewish community and the Swedish-Christian society, it encouraged cross-border interactions and became a physical product of the Jewish and Swedish-Christian entangled relationship. Non-Jewish architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander, historical figures prominent in the Swedish national narrative, and local and national newspapers were incorporated by the Jewish lay leadership into the creative process, and they influenced and circulated the community’s self-understanding as both Swedish citizens and Jews of a modern religion. The construction process and final product strategically communicated Jewish belonging to the Swedish nation during the last decade of social and legal inequality, thus adding to the contemporary political debate on Jewish emancipation.
Highlights
On 21 January 1863, the Swedish-Christian architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander wrote a strongly worded letter to the lay leaders of the Jewish community in Stockholm
The community’s umbrella organization—the Mosaic Congregation—had invited him to their annual general meeting to present his plans for the new synagogue, today known as the Great Synagogue
Scholander’s letter quoted above does reveal his naïve understanding of Jewish history—synagogues were often located in backyards during the Middle Ages, hiding from public view (Stiefel 2016a)—and portrays his hyperbolic language aimed at convincing the Jewish lay leaders of the need for a new plot. This desire was shared by some members of the Mosaic Congregation, and as a result, different ideas related to the geographical location for the new synagogue were discussed for five years, between 1863 and 1868, before construction could begin
Summary
On 21 January 1863, the Swedish-Christian architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander wrote a strongly worded letter to the lay leaders of the Jewish community in Stockholm. Scholander’s letter quoted above does reveal his naïve understanding of Jewish history—synagogues were often located in backyards during the Middle Ages, hiding from public view (Stiefel 2016a)—and portrays his hyperbolic language aimed at convincing the Jewish lay leaders of the need for a new plot This desire was shared by some members of the Mosaic Congregation, and as a result, different ideas related to the geographical location for the new synagogue were discussed for five years, between 1863 and 1868, before construction could begin. Emancipation was not granted until 1870, and the Jewish community utilized the last decade of political inequality to plan and construct a stronger Jewish presence in the city Towards this end, the Jewish lay leader’s relationship with Swedish-Christian national actors—historical figures, as well as architects and journalists—was of great importance; it promoted the building’s connection to the Swedish-Christian culture, and circulated the Jewish narrative in the press. Different sub-groups, hosting a variety of ideas of Jewishness, argued about and together established a physical Jewish presence in the urban landscape, and used a Swedish-Christian architect, as well as the local and national press, to negotiate their various opinions on Jewish life and its belonging to the Swedish society
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