History

The synagogue was erected in 1752 by Salomon Meyer. Inside the room he ordered supposedly by the famous polish painter Eliezer Sussmann magnificent paintings. Many fragments of these late Baroque floral or braid paintings have survived the centuries and are visible again today.

 In 1938 during the “Reichspogromnacht” the interior of the synagogue was completely devastated while the building remained scarcely damaged, probably due to the fact that by a burning synagogue “non-jewish property” would have also been destroyed.

In 1985, the historian Bernhard Kukatzki discovered the murals when he inspected the interior of the synagogue. On the initiative of the Protestant parish, citizens from Odenbach and the surrounding area came together to form a support association to save the former synagogue from final decay and to make the beautiful murals visible again. 

Thus, the Odenbach synagogue is an artistic gem, but also an excellent example of a "synagogue in a rural area".