European Day of Jewish Cultural Heritage – Open Monument Day

Living memories / Living monuments
Sunday September 10th 2023, sometimes September 9th
Free entrance

The European Day of Jewish Cultural Heritage is a yearly event that takes place in more than 30 countries all over Europe and aims at showing how Jewish Culture and Traditions have been deeply incorporated into the local culture of each country (see www.jewisheritage.org).

Amsterdam – Coevorden – Groningen – Maastricht – Meerssen
Middelburg – Overveen – Roermond – Tilburg – Zwolle – Zuidlaren

Amsterdam
RAS synagogue/Obrecht synagogue, Heinzestraat/Jacob Obrechtplein

open: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
– Visit the very special architecture both from outside as well as inside, the beautiful coloured windows, hear about Jewish traditions, services
– Synagogal music
– Film about the recent renovation and about the well known Jewish architect Harry Elte who designed this building in 1928

Gerard Dou Synagogue / Gerard Doustraat 238

open: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
– Guided visits
– Stories about history, the architecture of the building
– Synagogal music

Joma museum: Jewish second generation – art and family / Brouwersgracht 49

open: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Personal family stories with pictures, and history based art

Zeeburg / Old Jewish cemetary of the city Amsterdam, Valentijnkade 124

open: 12.00 PM – 5:00 PM
Guided visits to the restaured cemetary, in which between 1714 and 1914 around 80% of the Asjkenazi Jews of Amsterdam were buried (Sephardic Jews had their own cemetary in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel)

Coevorden – only on Saturday September 9th
Synagogue Museum Coevorden, Kerkstraat 36
– 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Guided visits in the Synagogue Museum
– 2:00 PM – 2.30 PM in the Synagogue and Thijnhof: The Leoville Klezmer Syncopators
– 3:00 PM -3.30 PM on the market: The Leoville Klezmer Syncopators
– 4:00 PM – 4.30 PM in the Synagogue: The Leoville Klezmer Syncopators

Groningen
Synagogue Groningen, Folkingestraat 60

open: 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Visit and guided tours

Concerts at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM
Irene Maessen-singing and Eleonore Pameijer-flute
This well known duo often plays together at concerts, especially concerts of Nazi persecuted composers, organized by the Leo Smit Foundation, which aims at bringing to life the music of persecuted Jewish composers as well as composers who were persecuted because of their resistance activities (www.forbiddenmusicregained.org).
Songs in Hebrew, in Dutch and in Jiddisj:
– Leo Smit, Mordechai Gebirtig, Ilse Weber, Leon Stein,
– Dick Kattenburg and
– Maurice Ravel

Maastricht
Synagogue Maastricht, Capucijnengang 2

open: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Visit and guided tours
Opening website Limburgs Jewish Heritage
2 PM: Lecture by Jac. Lemmens: Eight centuries of Jewish Life in Limburg

Meerssen
Synagogue Meerssen, Kuileneindestraat 22A

open: 12:00 PM -5:00 PM
Exhibition about Roma and Sinti in the Second World War

Middelburg
Etty Hillesum House, Molenwater 77

open: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Exposition and lectures
– How to keep the ideas of Etty Hillesum alife for the coming generations
– Letters from Westerbork
– Etty’s diary as “document humain”

Synagogue Middelburg, Herenstraat 14

Open: 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Visit and guided tours
The Portuguese looking synagogue in Middelburg, which has been built in 1705, was the first synagogue in this style built outside Amsterdam.

Overveen
Jewish Cemetary, Tetterodeweg 13

open: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Old Jewish Cemetary outside Amsterdam
Guided visits
Hidden in beautiful nature this old handsome cemetary is a gem with an interesting history

Roermond
Synagogue, Hamstraat 20

open: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Guided tours telling about the synagogie and its history. Roermond is one of the first places where officially is written about Jewish inhabitants. In the period between 1275 and 1443 Jews have been living uninterruptedly in Roermond.

Tilburg
Synagogue, Willem II straat 20

open: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Guided tours: This national monument from 1874, built in neo-oriëntal architectural style, is being used as a synagogue by the Jewish Reform Community of the province of Brabant.

Zwolle
Synagogue Zwolle, Samuel-Hirschstraat 8

On July 21st in 1899 the synagogue was solemnly opened with attendance of the deputies of the Province Overijssel and the mayor of Zwolle. During the restauration period between 1984 and 1989 plans were made to add a cultural and ecucational function to the synagogue.

Saturday September 9th
Open: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Guided tours
Sunday September 10th
3:00 PM: Lecture by Lion Tokkie about Jewish work camps in The Netherlands

Zuidlaren
Synagogue, Zuiderstraat 1

open: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Market with Jewish books and guided tours through the synagogue

Organization
This is an initiative of the Dutch B’nai B’rith Loge Hilleel, and has been financially supported by the Foundations Levi Lassen and Maatschappij tot Nut der Israëlieten.