SK
Sitzbuch

Sitzbuch (book of seats) of the Zámocká Street Synagogue

The book of seats (sitzbuch) is the only object of our collection connected to the Zámocká Street Synagogue. This special book listed the owner of each seat, which was purchased at the time of synagogue construction. Ownership rights could be transferred to another person by purchase or inheritance, and they were listed in this precious book. The synagogue was constructed on Zámocká Street, which ascends to the castle. The Jewish community commissioned Ignatz Feigler, Jr., Bratislava’s most prominent contractor and heir to an important building company, to construct the building. Feigler was known as a gifted and well-traveled master, who followed contemporary architectural trends and used them on a local level. The synagogue building he built for Bratislava followed the models of other urban synagogues, including the Oranienburgerstrasse Synagogue in Berlin and the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest. The synagogue was placed deep in the lot, with a small forecourt formed by two doorway pavilions and a fence between them. Originally, the central tower was topped with a dome. Though, according to legend, the dome was taken away by angels, this modification was made quickly overnight, when the Ketav Sofer, the Chief Rabbi of Bratislava, refused to attend the dedication of the synagogue with the dome intact. The synagogue was razed to the ground in 1961. [MB]

Bratislava, 1863
Height: 49 cm, width: 37 cm
ŽM-D 1344 XVIII-1

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BORSKÝ, Maroš: Synagogue Architecture in Slovakia. A Memorial Landscape of a Lost Community. Bratislava 2007.

Zámocká