The new synagogue and community center in Potsdam opened on July 3, 2024, with the ceremonial handover of the keys. At the ceremony the following day, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a welcoming address, with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Minister President Dietmar Woidke also in attendance. The building, which was designed by Haberland Architekten, is centrally located on Potsdam’s Schlossstrasse, not far from the former Potsdam Synagogue, which was severely damaged during the Third Reich and subsequently completely destroyed in a bombing raid. The new synagogue building serves as a place of worship, as an assembly hall, and as a meeting place for the four Jewish communities who previously had to rely on provisional premises.
The new synagogue is designed as a reinforced concrete structure. The heritage-listed neighboring building had to be underpinned using HDI due to the differing foundation depths. WTM Engineers was responsible for the structural design, planning of the excavation pit, and technical supervision of the engineering on site.
We and the communities involved are delighted to see this new ritual and cultural center take shape in the middle of Brandenburg’s state capital.
