KENH Architekten restores Vienna's Stadttempel synagogue

Vienna's Stadttempel was built in 1826 by Josef Kornhäusel and survived the 1938 Nazi pogroms, yet until recently people still came in through a side entrance. KENH Architekten has restored the external doors as part of a careful renovation of a synagogue that works hard: around 12,000 visitors a year, regular services, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.

The foyer, converted from shops in the 1980s, is now a warm place to sit during prayers that can last up to six hours. Its wood panelling takes its colours from Biedermeier paintings; co-founder Natalie Neubauer points to that era's tobacco yellows and powder pinks set against beige and white. Concealed storage and fold-out stands let the room change use.

In the oval sanctuary, Roman-style columns lead the eye up to a blue ceiling scattered with gold stars. Kornhäusel's theatre background made for echoey acoustics, so the architects designed curved upholstered seating with heating and cooling built in, approved once an archival photo showed the original was curved too. Extending the bimah uncovered the original Hungarian red and Solnhofen limestone floor, now reinterpreted, and old stone slabs sit beneath a new fountain in the forecourt.

Planning took about two years and the works ten months, finishing in time for this year's high holidays. One for anyone curious about how a working sacred building is kept alive; check visiting arrangements before you go.

Our summary of a story from Wallpaper*, published 17 October 2026. Read the original