Closed on Sundays: Görlitz restaurants and Jewish culture in focus

Closed on Sundays: Görlitz restaurants and Jewish culture in focus

A look at the current situation in Görlitz shows that many restaurants remain closed on Sundays. Ingo Kramer asked about the reasons for these closures, and the answer might come as a surprise to many: operators often struggle with staff shortages and want to prioritize quality over quantity. Meanwhile, the Kulturforum Görlitz Synagogue remains open on Sundays, and the interest in what it offers shows how important cultural education is.

Ilse Schleicher, who offers tours in the cultural forum, enjoys a lively response, especially from school classes. These tours initially sparked a lot of interest. However, there are now always negative voices. Parents from Brandenburg recently caused a stir by preventing their children from visiting the synagogue. Such isolated events have recently become the exception, which makes us think.

Cultural heritage and the role of the synagogue

The Görlitz Synagogue, which was inaugurated in 1911, is not only an architectural highlight with its striking, cuboid tower, but also a symbol of the preservation of Jewish life in the city. It is the only large community synagogue in Saxony that survived the horrors of National Socialism. It remained unscathed during the November pogroms in 1938, while the Jewish community in Görlitz was almost completely wiped out after the Holocaust. For many years the synagogue was without any functional use and was rapidly falling into disrepair.

After the fall of the Wall, however, attention fell on the need for renovation. Almost 12 million euros went into restoring the building, which has functioned as a cultural forum since July 2021. Not only multimedia exhibitions take place here, but also events such as concerts and readings. The exhibitions are dedicated to the culture of Görlitz's Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries, a truly impressive appreciation of this city's cultural heritage.

Guided tours offer insights into Jewish history

Thematic tours organized by Görlitz-Information and the Hotel Paul Otto offer a special opportunity to learn more about Görlitz's rich Jewish history. Under the direction of Gudrun Burkhardt, those interested can explore the Jewish quarter, the old synagogue, the new synagogue and the Jewish bath (mikveh) on an approximately 1.8 kilometer long route. This special tour lasts approximately 90 minutes and tells stories of important Görlitz Jews, whose lives and fates are deeply interwoven into the history of the city.

The tours take place regularly, either every Tuesday and Thursday or by individual arrangement. Advance registration is required and the number of participants is limited to 25 people.

The city of Görlitz, which boasts over 4,600 monuments, lives not only from its historical buildings, but also from the stories they tell. These pieces of Jewish history, whether through stumbling blocks or the remnants of the Jewish Quarter, remind us of the rich cultural heritage that must be preserved. The difficulties associated with accepting offerings such as guided tours are a sign that there is still a long way to go in promoting understanding of this important history.

Overall, the current situation in Görlitz shows how diverse and yet challenging it is to deal with one's own history. The dismissal of entrepreneur Stefan Menzel after a raid also raises questions about the business environment in the region and leaves the local business location in question.

Anyone who would like to find out more about the Görlitz synagogue and its history should think about this cultural pearl in the middle of the city, apart from visiting the restaurant on Sundays.

Further information can be found on the pages of the Kulturforum Görlitzer Synagoge as well as on ostsachsen.de and Sächsische.de.