The Platz der Alten Synagoge (Old Synagogue Square) is Freiburg's second-largest square, a wide paved space between the city theatre and the university. Its centre is a shallow pool of water shaped exactly like the floor plan of the synagogue that stood here until Nazi supporters burned it in November 1938.
Platz der Alten Synagoge at a glance
- Where: on the western edge of the old town, between the Theater Freiburg and the university's Kollegiengebäude II, on the Rotteckring tram line.
- Opened: the square took its current name in 1996; it was rebuilt and the memorial opened in 2017.
- By: designed by the architects Volker Rosenstiel and Martin Schedlbauer, who won the competition in 2006.
- What it is today: a public square, about 130 by 130 metres, with the synagogue memorial pool at its heart and trams running across it.
- Time needed: 10 to 15 minutes to walk around the pool and read the plaque.
From synagogue to open square
Freiburg's Jewish community built its synagogue here in 1869–1870, on the site of an old rampart from the city's French fortifications. It was a domed building in a Moorish-Byzantine style with Romanesque touches. On 10 November 1938, during the November pogrom, local SA and SS men set it on fire; about 140 Jewish men from Freiburg were then held in Dachau concentration camp for several weeks. On 22 October 1940, almost all of the roughly 350 Jews still living in Freiburg were deported to the Gurs camp in southern France, along with most Jews from Baden. Most of them did not survive.
After the war the site lay under a lawn and a busy road. A bronze plaque recalled the synagogue, and in 1996 the square was named after it. When the city removed the road through the square for its Rotteckring project, it held a design competition, and the new square opened on 2 August 2017. During construction, remains of the synagogue's foundations were found.
What to look for
- The memorial pool: a thin sheet of water in the exact outline of the synagogue, so you can read the building's shape on the ground.
- The old bronze plaque set into the pool, beginning with the words that the synagogue of Freiburg's Jewish community once stood here.
- The Theater Freiburg on one side and the university's Kollegiengebäude II on the other: the square was designed to link the two again.
- The trams crossing the square, where cars once drove right past the synagogue site.
A place of remembrance
Since it opened, the memorial has been debated in Freiburg because on hot days people wade, splash and sunbathe in the water. The Jewish community and many residents have asked visitors to treat it as a memorial rather than a paddling pool. Please do not step into the water, and take a moment to read the plaque.
Tips for your visit
- Walk the full outline of the pool to understand the size of the vanished synagogue.
- Stay out of the water and keep children from playing in it.
- Visit on 9 or 10 November if you are in town: the anniversary of the pogrom is marked in the city.
- Combine the square with Martinstor and the old town lanes, a few minutes' walk east.
Nearby
- Theater Freiburg: the city theatre, a large early 20th-century building right on the square.
- University Library: the angular glass building by Degelo Architekten, just south of the square.
- Martinstor: one of Freiburg's two surviving medieval city gates, a few minutes' walk away.
- Freiburg Minster: the red sandstone Gothic minster in the centre of the old town, about ten minutes' walk.
See Freiburg with World City Trail
Our Freiburg scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 24 minutes of walking, and it includes places such as the Schwabentor, Freiburg Minster and the Old Town Hall.
If you prefer a different format, Freiburg also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Freiburg scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Freiburg →
Play the outdoor escape game in Freiburg →
Facts checked in October 2026.