Stadttempel Synagogue

Address: Seitenstettengasse 4, 1010 Wien (Vienna), Austria

Website: https://www.ikg-wien.at

Hours: Visit by appointment / guided tours - check IKG Wien

Admission: Free entry to the exterior; guided tours and synagogue visits arranged by the Jewish Community (fees may apply)

Stadttempel is Vienna’s principal synagogue located on Seitenstettengasse in the city’s Innere Stadt. Built in the early 19th century, it serves as the central house of worship for Vienna’s Jewish community.

The interior is a single prayer hall with a classicising Biedermeier-style layout and features typical liturgical elements of an urban synagogue. The building is known for having survived the large-scale attacks on Jewish properties in 1938 because it is enclosed within a residential block.

Constructed during the early 1800s, the Stadttempel has been the focal point of communal religious life in Vienna through periods of growth, persecution and postwar restoration. It today functions as an active synagogue and cultural site.

The synagogue stands in Vienna’s historic centre, in the Innere Stadt district, within walking distance of other central landmarks.

• Historical survival: Survived the 1938 anti-Jewish pogroms largely because the synagogue is enclosed within a block of residential buildings rather than standing free, which spared it from destruction.

From Stephansplatz (central Vienna), walk 5-7 minutes west along narrow historic streets to Seitenstettengasse. The U1/U3/U4 lines serve Stephansplatz and nearby Karlsplatz; the synagogue is a short walk from these stops.

• Approach on foot via Seitenstettengasse to appreciate the narrow, old-town streets that protect the synagogue from the ring road bustle.
• Guided visits are limited - contact the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien (IKG) in advance for access and group tours.
• Notice the modest exterior: the synagogue's survival owes more to integration than to flamboyance - look for the worn brass plaques and memorials outside.