The Turkish Temple: “A Shimmering, Colorful Oriental Fairy Tale”
In 1887, a new Sephardic synagogue was inaugurated in Zirkusgasse in Vienna’s 2nd district.
Postkarte
Postcards of the Turkish Temple in Vienna
When the new Sephardic synagogue in Zirkusgasse was opened on September 18, 1887, after two years of construction, newspaper commentaries overflowed with descriptions of its splendid furnishings and imposing architecture. The construction was initiated, among others, by the president of the Turkish-Israelite community in Vienna, Marcus M. Russo, who commissioned the Viennese architect Hugo Ritter von Wiedenfeld to design the house of worship.
Ansichtskarten vom Türkischen Tempel in Wien
Grafik
Interior view of the synagogue of the Sephardic-Turkish community at Zirkusgasse 2, Vienna II (Leopoldstadt)
“It affects the beholder like a shimmering, colorful Oriental fairy tale. […] Upon entering the temple, the impressions intensify step by step. After the forecourt comes the vestibule with marble walls and a stalactite cornice, entirely Alhambra,” wrote the Austro-Hungarian Cantors’ Newspaper.
Innenansicht der Synagoge der sefardisch-türkischen Gemeinde in der Zirkusgasse 2, Wien II. (Leopoldstadt)Fotoabzug
Commemorative plaque honoring Baron Diego d’Aguilar, also known as Mosche Lopez Pereira, the founder of the Turkish-Jewish community in Vienna
In the entrance area of the Turkish Temple, a memorial stone commemorating the legendary founder of the Viennese Sephardic community, Mosche Lopez Pereira, also known as Diego d’Aguilar, was installed. Every year on the Day of Atonement, the prayer for the dead (Kaddish) was recited for him in the synagogue as well.
Gedenktafel an Baron Diego d’Aguilar, alias Mosche Lopez Pereira, dem Gründer der türkisch-israelitischen Gemeinde in Wien
Fotoabzug
Document of Karl VI, from the photo series on the Turkish Temple in Vienna
Diego d’Aguilar was a Marrano (a forcibly baptized Jew) from Portugal who returned to Judaism and was summoned to Vienna by Emperor Karl VI to reorganize the Austrian tobacco monopoly. He is said to have founded the Turkish-Sephardic community in Vienna in 1735. Its members were under the protection of the Sultan, since after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1498, many Sephardic Jews had found asylum in the Ottoman Empire. The peace treaties between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans in the first half of the 18th century offered Sephardic Jews the opportunity to settle in Vienna and engage in trade.
Urkunde Karl VI., aus der Fotoserie über den Türkischen Tempel in Wien
Malerei
Portrait of Ruben Baruch
The ceremonies in the Turkish Temple were characterized by the multilingualism of the Sephardic community. Some addresses and sermons were delivered in Ladino or Judeo‑Spanish (the language Jews carried with them into exile after their expulsion from Spain). During celebrations honoring the Sultan, the Sultan’s anthem was sung in Turkish.
According to an account by Ruben Baruch, the long-serving Chacham (rabbi) of the Turkish-Israelite community in Vienna, Diego d’Aguilar donated a pair of silver Rimmonim, engraved with his Hebrew name Mosche Lopez Pereira, to the Sephardic community in Vienna and to the community in Temesvár before moving to London. The whereabouts of these Rimmonim are unknown. Preserved to this day, however, is a portrait of Chacham Ruben in Oriental attire from the collections of the Turkish Temple.
Tora-Aufsatz
Rimmonim from Jerusalem
With high probability, the Rimmonim made in a typically Ottoman style and bearing the Hebrew inscription “Jerusalem 1741” were also part of the holdings of the Turkish Temple.
Rimmonim aus JerusalemFotoabzug
Portrait of banker David Halfon
The banker David Halfon, born in Vienna in 1863, who like many Viennese Sephardim was initially an Ottoman and, after 1922, a Turkish citizen, commissioned the photographer Oskar Moser in the 1930s to photograph the ritual objects of the Turkish Temple.
Porträt des Bankiers David Halfon
Tora-Mantel
Torah mantle from the Turkish Temple
On the basis of this photographic documentation—which survives almost in its entirety in the archive of the Jewish Museum—several objects can be clearly attributed to the former Turkish Temple, such as this Torah mantle made of cream-colored silk satin and decorated with colorful stones.
Meil aus dem Türkischen Tempel
Tora-Mantel
Torah mantle of Mosche Finzi
This Torah mantle, donated by Mosche Finzi, also once belonged to the temple treasury of the Sephardic synagogue.
Meil von Mosche FinziMalerei
Portrait of Jakob Bauer, Chief Cantor at the Turkish Temple
The Turkish Temple in Vienna was renowned for its liturgical chants and musical accompaniment. These were shaped primarily by two individuals, the first of whom was the chief cantor Jakob Bauer.
Porträt Jakob Bauer, Oberkantor im Türkischen Tempel
Fotografie
Portrait of Isidor Löwit
The second was the conductor and choir director Isidor Löwit. Like Bauer, he originally came from an Ashkenazic family.
Porträt Isidor Löwit
Souvenir
Anniversary Address for Isidor Löwit
“One may say that Löwit is the creator of the Sephardic choral service. Everywhere in the Orient where a choral service is held, a large part of the chants performed are by Löwit,” wrote Aron Friedmann, Royal Music Director and Chief Cantor of the Jewish Community of Berlin, about his Viennese colleague on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in office. On this occasion, Isidor Löwit was presented with a tribute address in a silver casket by the Israelite Community of Vienna.
Jubiläumsadresse für Isidor Löwit
Korrespondenz
Letter from Isidor Löwit to his daughter-in-law Jenny Löwit Frankl
On December 5, 1937, shortly before the National Socialists seized power, the wedding of Isidor Löwit’s youngest daughter, Mitzi Löwit, to Salomon Grüner took place in the Turkish Temple. During the November Pogrom of 1938, the National Socialists set the Turkish Temple—like all other Viennese synagogues—on fire. In the summer of 1942, Isidor Löwit was deported to Theresienstadt together with his daughter Mitzi and murdered. Shortly beforehand, he wrote a desperate farewell letter to his daughter-in-law Jenny Löwit Frankl. His granddaughter Margarethe Löwit was able to flee to Italy in 1938, where she survived the war.
Brief von Isidor Löwit an seine Schwiegertochter Jenny Löwit Frankl
