Rising with quiet, monumental dignity at the intersection of tree-lined Avenue Monterey (45 Avenue Monterey) and Rue Willy Goergen on the western edge of the historic upper town (Ville Haute) of Luxembourg City, directly opposite the lush greenery of the Municipal Park, the Luxembourg Synagogue (known in French as Synagogue de Luxembourg, in German as Synagoge Luxemburg, and in Luxembourgish as Synagog Letzebuerg) stands as the spiritual center of Jewish life across the Grand Duchy. Rather than imitating nineteenth-century Oriental domes, its austere facade of dressed golden-grey sandstone commands the boulevard through pure vertical rhythm: above the triple bronze-and-oak entrance portal soar five narrow stained-glass lancet windows separated by slender stone piers that carry the eye upward to the sculpted stone Tablets of the Ten Commandments (Luchot HaBrit) crowning the roofline.
Within the history of Judaism in Western Europe, the sanctuary on Avenue Monterey is the third successive synagogue of the capital and one of the most moving monuments of postwar European reconstruction. After Luxembourg City's second Great Synagogue (built in 1894 in an opulent Moorish-Byzantine style at the corner of Rue Notre-Dame and Rue Aldringen) was desecrated and systematically demolished stone by stone under Nazi occupation in the autumn of 1943, the joint resolve of the surviving Jewish community and the Grand Ducal government to erect a new central synagogue between 1951 and 1953 affirmed the triumph of religious freedom over totalitarian destruction. Alongside Trinity Church, Luxembourg in the old quarter and ancient monastic landmarks such as the Basilica of Saint Willibrord, Echternach, the Luxembourg Synagogue embodies the civic harmony and spiritual pluralism of the Grand Duchy.
IMonotheistic Faith, the Consistorial Tradition of the Grand Duchy, and the Intellectual Legacy of Chief Rabbis Samuel Hirsch and Charles Lehrmann
In accordance with Jewish law and theology, the Luxembourg Synagogue is consecrated to the worship of the One God (reverently addressed as HaShem or Adonai), containing no figural statues and centering all liturgical reverence upon the Scrolls of the Torah (the Five Books of Moses handwritten on parchment and housed within the sacred Ark, Aron HaKodesh). Like the historic Choral Synagogue of Vilnius in Lithuania, the sanctuary on Avenue Monterey fulfills the threefold classical mission of a synagogue: Beit Tefilah (House of Prayer), Beit Midrash (House of Study), and Beit Knesset (House of Communal Assembly).
Institutionally, the synagogue serves as the seat of the Israelite Consistory of Luxembourg (Consistoire Israelite de Luxembourg) and the cathedra of the Chief Rabbi of the Grand Duchy (Grand Rabbin). Introduced in 1808 under the Napoleonic consistorial system (initially attached to the Consistory of Trier and established as an autonomous national body after the Congress of Vienna in 1815), the Consistory enjoys official public-law recognition from the State of Luxembourg, ensuring close cooperation between the Jewish community and the constitutional institutions of the Grand Duchy.
The spiritual and intellectual prestige of the Luxembourg Rabbinate has been shaped by prominent European scholars who served as Chief Rabbis of the Grand Duchy. Foremost in the nineteenth century was the German-born religious philosopher Rabbi Dr. Samuel Hirsch (1815 to 1889), appointed by King-Grand Duke William II as the first Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg from 1843 to 1866. During his twenty-three years in Luxembourg before departing for Philadelphia in the United States, Rabbi Samuel Hirsch authored major philosophical works engaging Hegelian thought, articulated the universal ethical mission of Judaism in the modern world, and fostered deep civic solidarity within Luxembourg society.
In the twentieth century, the rebirth of the synagogue on Avenue Monterey was guided by Rabbi Dr. Charles Lehrmann (1905 to 1977, Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg from 1949 to 1958 and a respected professor of French and Jewish literature). Arriving in a community devastated by the Shoah, Rabbi Lehrmann worked closely with architects Victor Engels and Rene Maillet and artist Frantz Kinnen to shape the theological symbolism of the new sanctuary, presiding over its solemn consecration on June 28, 1953 and co-authoring the standard history of the Jewish community of Luxembourg.
Archival records document the presence of Jewish residents in the City of Luxembourg as early as 1276 and in Echternach during the fourteenth century. Following medieval expulsions and early modern restrictions, Jewish families resettled permanently in Luxembourg at the end of the eighteenth century under French emancipation laws. Since that era, the spiritual life of the capital's Jewish community has been anchored in three successive synagogues inside the Ville Haute:
The First Synagogue (1823 to 1894) was erected and consecrated in 1823 in a quiet courtyard off Rue du Petit-Seminaire (present-day Rue Chimay near Place d'Armes). Here Rabbi Samuel Hirsch preached from 1843 to 1866 as the community grew from a few dozen families to a thriving congregation.
The Second Great Synagogue (1894 to 1943) was built at the prestigious corner of Rue Notre-Dame and Rue Aldringen, only steps from Notre-Dame Cathedral. Designed by the renowned German synagogue architect Ludwig Levy of Karlsruhe in collaboration with Luxembourg state architect Charles Arendt, it was inaugurated on September 28, 1894 in an exuberant Moorish-Byzantine Revival style crowned by a tall bulbous dome and horseshoe arches. Following the Nazi invasion of neutral Luxembourg in May 1940, the Gestapo desecrated the interior in 1941 (though courageous members managed to rescue several ancient Torah scrolls) and between August and autumn 1943 ordered the complete demolition of the 1894 synagogue. Today, on Boulevard Franklin D. Roosevelt near the site of that vanished sanctuary, stands the Kaddish Monument sculpted in grey granite by Franco-Israeli artist Shelomo Selinger and unveiled on November 7, 2018.
Visitors admiring the crisp, modernist sandstone lines of the current Luxembourg Synagogue at 45 Avenue Monterey sometimes assume either that the Jewish community of Luxembourg only arrived after the Second World War, or that the 1953 building stands on the exact footprint of the destroyed 1894 synagogue.
In fact, postwar urban reconstruction shifted the location of the sanctuary by several blocks: after the Liberation of Luxembourg in September 1944, the plot of the demolished 1894 synagogue at the corner of Rue Notre-Dame and Rue Aldringen was incorporated into the site of the boarding school of Sainte-Sophie and later the Ministry of National Education. To provide a more spacious and prominent setting for the new synagogue, the Government of the Grand Duchy and the City of Luxembourg allocated a prime corner plot at 45 Avenue Monterey and Rue Willy Goergen and provided war-damage reconstruction funds so that architects Victor Engels and Rene Maillet could raise an entirely new monument of spiritual renewal between 1951 and 1953.
IIOver Seven Centuries of Presence: From the 1276 Records and Two Nineteenth-Century Synagogues to the 1943 Destruction and 1953 Consecration
The history of the Luxembourg Synagogue chronicles the perseverance of a community that has been woven into the fabric of the Grand Duchy for centuries: from medieval settlement and nineteenth-century civic emancipation, through the tragedy of the Shoah, to the historic state consecration of June 28, 1953.
- 1276 and 1808Earliest medieval charter mentioning Jews in Luxembourg and creation of the ConsistoryA charter of 1276 records Jewish residents in Luxembourg City; in 1808 the community is organized under the Napoleonic consistorial system.
- 1823 to 1866Consecration of the first synagogue on Rue Chimay and tenure of Chief Rabbi Samuel HirschThe first synagogue opens in 1823 on Rue du Petit-Seminaire (Rue Chimay); from 1843 to 1866 philosopher Rabbi Samuel Hirsch serves as the first Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg.
- September 28, 1894Inauguration of the second Great Synagogue in Moorish style on Rue Notre-DameDesigned by architects Ludwig Levy and Charles Arendt, a domed Moorish-Byzantine Revival synagogue is consecrated at the corner of Rue Notre-Dame and Rue Aldringen.
- 1941 to Autumn 1943Nazi persecution of Luxembourg Jewry and demolition of the 1894 synagogueUnder Nazi occupation, over 1,300 to 2,000 Jews from Luxembourg perish in the Shoah, and between August and autumn 1943 the 1894 synagogue is systematically demolished to its foundations.
- June 12, 1951Laying of the cornerstone for the third synagogue at 45 Avenue MontereyWith state reconstruction support, the cornerstone of the new synagogue designed by Victor Engels and Rene Maillet is laid on Avenue Monterey.
- June 28, 1953Grand Duchess Charlotte attends the solemn consecration of the Luxembourg SynagogueChief Rabbi Dr. Charles Lehrmann consecrates the new sanctuary in the presence of Grand Duchess Charlotte, Prince Felix, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, and Prime Minister Pierre Dupong.
- 2018 and 2019Unveiling of the Kaddish Memorial and designation as a Classified National MonumentIn November 2018 the Kaddish memorial is unveiled near the 1894 synagogue site; in 2019 the Government of Luxembourg classifies the 1953 Avenue Monterey synagogue as a National Monument.
June 28, 1953: A national act of solidarity attended by Grand Duchess Charlotte. Few religious ceremonies in twentieth-century Luxembourg carried deeper moral resonance than the consecration of the new Luxembourg Synagogue on the afternoon of June 28, 1953. On the eve of the Second World War in 1940, approximately 4,000 Jewish residents and refugees lived in the Grand Duchy; during the Nazi occupation, both the 1894 Great Synagogue in Luxembourg City and the 1899 synagogue in Esch-sur-Alzette were razed to the ground, the historic Cinqfontaines monastery in the northern Ardennes was used as an internment transit camp, and roughly half of the community perished in Nazi concentration and extermination camps.
Following Liberation, the Grand Ducal government viewed the rebuilding of the synagogues in Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette as a sacred national duty. On June 28, 1953, Grand Duchess Charlotte (revered across the nation as the symbol of Luxembourg's wartime resistance), accompanied by her consort Prince Felix, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, Prime Minister Pierre Dupong, Foreign Minister Joseph Bech, municipal leaders, and representatives of the Catholic and Protestant churches, processed into the luminous new hall on Avenue Monterey. As the historic Torah scrolls that had been hidden and saved during the occupation were placed inside the marble Ark beneath Frantz Kinnen's stained-glass windows, Chief Rabbi Charles Lehrmann kindled the Eternal Light (Ner Tamid), inaugurating a new era of Jewish life in the Grand Duchy.
IIIThe Monumental Sandstone Architecture of Victor Engels and Rene Maillet, Frantz Kinnen's Stained Glass, and the Sanctuary Hall
Designed by two of Luxembourg's leading mid-twentieth-century architects, Victor Engels (1892 to 1962) and Rene Maillet (1910 to 1995), the Luxembourg Synagogue is a textbook example of Postwar Monumental Modernism infused with Neo-Romanesque sobriety. Built of finely dressed local sandstone on a corner plot at 45 Avenue Monterey and Rue Willy Goergen, the complex unites the main sanctuary with a communal wing housing classrooms, a rabbinical library, offices, and a wedding and assembly hall.
Facing south onto Avenue Monterey, the main elevation presents a lofty, clean-lined wall of ashlar sandstone that conveys permanence and quiet strength. A recessed ground-floor porch with three bronze-and-oak portals supports a monumental window bay divided by four slender stone mullions into five tall, narrow lancets; rising above the flat cornice at the apex of the facade stand the carved stone Tablets of the Ten Commandments (Luchot HaBrit) inscribed in Hebrew characters.
Entering through the triple portal from Avenue Monterey, worshippers step into a solemn stone-clad vestibule that serves as a space of historical memory. Mounted on the vestibule walls are marble memorial plaques inscribed with the names of members of the Jewish community of Luxembourg murdered during the Shoah (1940 to 1945), alongside dedicatory inscriptions from the 1951 cornerstone ceremony and 1953 consecration.
The rectangular main sanctuary seats approximately 300 men on the ground floor and 180 women on the cantilevered mezzanine gallery (Ezrat Nashim) wrapping around the rear and side walls. Clad in warm oak paneling and travertine stone beneath a stepped acoustic coffered ceiling, the hall was designed to provide clear sightlines and resonant acoustics for cantorial chanting (Hazzanut) and choral responses.
Anchoring the eastern liturgical wall of the sanctuary is the elevated platform housing the monumental marble Torah Ark (Aron HaKodesh), veiled by a richly embroidered velvet Parochet curtain and containing the community's sacred Torah scrolls. Directly before the Ark stands the central reading desk (Bimah), flanked by bronze seven-branched Menorah candelabra and the suspended Eternal Lamp (Ner Tamid).
The crowning artistic glory of the Luxembourg Synagogue is its cycle of tall stained-glass windows lining the lateral walls and the southern entrance facade, created in 1953 by the celebrated Luxembourg painter, sculptor, and glass artist Frantz Kinnen (1905 to 1979). Executed in deep cobalt blues, ruby reds, emerald greens, and glowing yellows set in expressive lead lines, Kinnen's windows depict the Burning Bush of Moses, the Tablets of Sinai, the Menorah, the Star of David, liturgical symbols of the festivals, and the emblems of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
| Architectural or Artistic Element | Location and Author | Technical Features and Symbolic Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Sandstone Exterior and South Facade | 45 Avenue Monterey, 1951 to 1953 (Victor Engels and Rene Maillet) | Monumental Modernist ashlar sandstone facade with triple portal, five vertical window bays, and rooftop Decalogue tablets |
| Cycle of Biblical Stained-Glass Windows | Nave walls and south facade, 1953 (artist Frantz Kinnen) | Expressive mid-century stained glass illustrating the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the Burning Bush, and sacred Hebrew symbols |
| Main Prayer Hall and Ezrat Nashim Gallery | Central building core (ground level and upper mezzanine) | Capacity for nearly 500 worshippers with oak pews, three-sided women's balcony, and acoustic coffered ceiling |
| Torah Ark (Aron HaKodesh) and Sanctuary Bimah | Eastern wall oriented toward Jerusalem | Marble Ark housing rescued historic Torah scrolls, bronze Menorah candelabra, and the ever-burning Ner Tamid |
| Shoah Memorial Vestibule and Community Wing | Main entrance and Rue Willy Goergen wing | Preserves Holocaust memorial plaques, Talmud Torah classrooms, community library, and assembly hall |
IVThe Lie of the Land and the Facing
It should be stated clearly that the Israelite Consistory of Luxembourg and architects Victor Engels and Rene Maillet did not practice East Asian geomancy (feng shui) in siting or designing the Luxembourg Synagogue. The plot at the corner of Avenue Monterey and Rue Willy Goergen was allocated by municipal planners after World War II, while the internal liturgical axis obeys the Jewish Halakhic law of prayer orientation (Mizrach) toward Jerusalem. The observations below offer a comparative urban landform reading through the traditional framework of the Hall of Myriad Paths library.
Examined within the macro-topography of Luxembourg City at coordinates 49.6098 degrees north, 6.1225 degrees east, the Luxembourg Synagogue occupies the broad western plateau of the Ville Haute at an elevation of approximately 305 meters above sea level. Immediately across Avenue Monterey to the north and west stretches the verdant twenty-hectare expanse of the Municipal Park (Parc Municipal and Parc Edouard Andre), landscaped in the late nineteenth century over the dismantled western bastions of the Fortress of Luxembourg (including the historic Fort Monterey). In classical landform terms, this belt of mature parkland wrapping around the northern and western quarters acts as a tranquil green forest screen that filters urban wind and nourishes the neighborhood with calm vitality.
In terms of watercourse geometry and axial facing, roughly four hundred meters south of Avenue Monterey plunges the deep valley of the Petrusse River flowing eastward to join the Alzette River. Occupying a prominent corner plot, the synagogue's monumental five-window facade faces south-southeast onto the wide tree-lined vista of Avenue Monterey, which serves as a bright outer gathering hall receiving full southern sunlight throughout the day, while inside the main sanctuary the liturgical axis turns toward the east-southeast where the marble Aron HaKodesh points toward Jerusalem.
VWeekly Shabbat Services, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and National Remembrance in the Grand Duchy
Liturgical life at the Luxembourg Synagogue follows the Hebrew calendar (lunisolar sacred calendar) under the spiritual leadership of the Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg and the Israelite Consistory. In addition to regular Friday evening and Saturday morning Shabbat services, the synagogue celebrates all major festivals of the Jewish year and participates actively in the national civic and interfaith life of the Grand Duchy.
| Time of Year | Hebrew Calendar Date | Festival or Commemoration | Liturgical Rites and Customs at the Luxembourg Synagogue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Friday evening through Saturday | Weekly throughout the year | Shabbat (Kabbalat Shabbat, Shacharit Torah Service, and Kiddush) | Friday sunset prayers and Saturday morning reading of the weekly Torah portion (Parashah) attended by Luxembourgish families and Jewish officials working at European Union institutions. |
| September or October | 1, 2, and 10 Tishrei | Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) | The High Holidays featuring the sounding of the Shofar, the evening chanting of Kol Nidrei beneath Frantz Kinnen's stained glass, and Yizkor memorial prayers. |
| September or October | 15 to 23 Tishrei | Festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) and Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law) | Blessing of the Four Species in the communal Sukkah and joyful processions (Hakafot) carrying the Torah scrolls around the Bimah on Simchat Torah. |
| November or December; March or April | 25 Kislev (Hanukkah) and 15 Nisan (Pesach) | Festival of Lights (Hanukkah) and Passover (Pesach) | Public and congregational kindling of the Hanukkiah candelabrum in winter and communal Passover Seder gatherings in spring. |
| June 23 and Holocaust Remembrance Days | Gregorian (National Holiday & Memorial Days) | Luxembourg National Day (June 23) and Shoah Commemorations | Solemn prayers for the Grand Duke and the nation on National Day, alongside annual memorial ceremonies at the Kaddish Monument on Boulevard Roosevelt and at Cinqfontaines. |
A cosmopolitan European congregation and interfaith bridge. Today the Luxembourg Synagogue serves a vibrant, multilingual community uniting historic Luxembourgish Jewish families with jurists, economists, diplomats, and civil servants employed at the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Investment Bank, and international institutions on the Kirchberg plateau. Every September during the European Days of Jewish Culture, the Consistory opens the doors of the Avenue Monterey sanctuary to the wider public for guided architectural visits, lectures on Frantz Kinnen's stained-glass art, and concerts of Jewish liturgical and klezmer music.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- 45 Avenue Monterey, L-2163 Luxembourg City, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
- Getting there
- The Luxembourg Synagogue is located at 45 Avenue Monterey (L-2163 Luxembourg, at the corner of Rue Willy Goergen) on the western side of the Ville Haute center, roughly 400 meters (a 5-minute walk) west of Place d'Armes and directly opposite the Municipal Park. Because all public transport across the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is completely free of charge, visitors can take the T1 tram line to the Hamilius stop (300 meters east of the synagogue) or the Stareplaz (Place de l'Etoile) stop (450 meters northwest), or take city buses to the Monterey Parc stop directly in front of the building.
- Coordinates
- 49.6098, 6.1225
The Luxembourg Synagogue at 45 Avenue Monterey is an active house of worship administered by the Israelite Consistory of Luxembourg. In accordance with standard security protocols for synagogues across Europe, the building is not open for unannounced walk-in tourism; visitors wishing to tour the interior or attend Shabbat services must contact the secretariat of the Consistoire Israelite de Luxembourg in advance (via synagogue.lu) and present a valid passport or photo identification upon arrival. Inside the main prayer hall, all male visitors are required to wear a head covering or Kippah (available at the entrance), everyone should dress modestly, and photography or mobile phone use is strictly prohibited on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
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?Quick Questions
How many synagogues have stood in Luxembourg City across history?
The current sanctuary on Avenue Monterey is the third synagogue in the history of Luxembourg City: the first synagogue opened in 1823 on Rue du Petit-Seminaire (now Rue Chimay); the second Great Synagogue was built in 1894 in a Moorish-Byzantine style at the corner of Rue Notre-Dame and Rue Aldringen and was destroyed by the Nazis in 1943; the third and present synagogue at 45 Avenue Monterey was built from 1951 to 1953.
Who designed the 1953 Luxembourg Synagogue and who attended its consecration?
The synagogue was designed by Luxembourg architects Victor Engels and Rene Maillet. It was solemnly consecrated on June 28, 1953 by Chief Rabbi Dr. Charles Lehrmann in the presence of Luxembourg's head of state, Grand Duchess Charlotte, her consort Prince Felix, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, and Prime Minister Pierre Dupong.
What happened to Luxembourg's second synagogue (built in 1894) during World War II?
Designed by Ludwig Levy and Charles Arendt and inaugurated in 1894 on Rue Notre-Dame, the Moorish-style Great Synagogue was desecrated by the Gestapo in 1941 and systematically demolished to its foundations between August and autumn 1943. In November 2018, the granite Kaddish Monument by sculptor Shelomo Selinger was unveiled on Boulevard Roosevelt near the site of that destroyed synagogue.
Who created the stained-glass windows inside the Luxembourg Synagogue and what do they depict?
The soaring stained-glass windows lining the nave walls and the southern entrance facade were created in 1953 by the celebrated Luxembourg painter and master glass artist Frantz Kinnen (1905 to 1979). Executed in rich cobalt blue, ruby, and gold tones, they depict the Burning Bush of Moses, the Tablets of the Ten Commandments, the seven-branched Menorah, the Star of David, and the emblems of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Which prominent scholars have served as Chief Rabbis of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg?
Among the most notable figures were Rabbi Dr. Samuel Hirsch (1815 to 1889, the first Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg from 1843 to 1866 and a pioneering nineteenth-century Jewish religious philosopher) and Rabbi Dr. Charles Lehrmann (1905 to 1977, Chief Rabbi from 1949 to 1958, who led the postwar reconstruction of the community and consecrated the new synagogue in 1953).
How can visitors arrange to visit the interior of the Luxembourg Synagogue?
For security reasons, visitors wishing to see the interior or attend services must register in advance with the office of the Israelite Consistory of Luxembourg (via synagogue.lu) or join guided open-house visits held during the annual European Days of Jewish Culture in September. Valid photo identification is required, and male visitors must wear a head covering or Kippah inside the prayer hall.