New Synagogue (Berlin)

The imposing structure, with its striking golden dome makes Neue Synagoge one of Berlin's most instantly recognizable landmarks. Designed by architect Eduard Knoblauch in 1859, the synagogue was the center of Jewish life in Berlin until the the night of 9th November 1938 (Kristallnacht), when it was attacked by Nazi storm-troopers. After an Allied air raid in 1943, the synagogue lay in ruins for around 40 years after the end of the war. It was then restored and reopened as a museum of Jewish culture on the fiftieth anniversary of Kristallnacht, in 1988.