Eisenmann Synagogue

The Eisenmann Synagogue is an historic synagogue in Antwerp, Belgium. It was built by Jacob Eisenmann in 1907 and is the only synagogue in Antwerp to have survived the Holocaust and the Nazi occupation of Belgium.

Jacob (Jacques) Samuel Eisenmann was born in Frankfurt am Main. In 1884 he moved to Antwerp, where he established a company in the import of dried fruits and industrial fibers from the Belgian Congo. He was a very successful businessman and reputed to have been close with King Leopold II. His wife was the daughter of Eliezer Liepman Philip Prins and his brother-in-law was the noted painter Benjamin Prins. Eisenmann was extremely well versed in both Jewish and general topics. He was a student of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsh, under whom Eisenmann had studied in Frankfurt.

The tradition of the Jewish community in his native Frankfurt was close to his heart, and he was annoyed at the way of life of Eastern European immigrants brought to Antwerp. Specifically the lack of decorum during the tefillot and conversation during prayers that perturbed him. As a result, he decided to start his own minyan, one which the traditions of the Jewish community in Frankfurt, would be kept. In 1905 he rented three rooms in the Breughelstraat. In the beginning there were only 20-odd members of his minyan, but soon, the number of worshipers burgeoned and it became quite clear that a new space was necessary. As a result Eisenmann decided to purchase a piece of land on Oostenstraat across the street from the railroad embankment.

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