At the end of the 19th century, the Jewish community in Teplice numbered over 1,800 members, making it the second largest in Bohemia after Prague. Due to capacity reasons, the community decided to build a new, spacious, and grand temple. The New Great Synagogue, completed in 1882, offered nearly 1,500 seats – an extraordinary capacity for Bohemia at that time.
The tragedy occurred on the night of March 15, 1939. The building, which had been abandoned since October 1938 after most Jewish residents left, was set on fire during unrest targeting the remaining Czech population and was completely destroyed by morning. The synagogue had survived Kristallnacht a few months earlier, but local hostility eventually destroyed its majestic appearance. The damage led to a decision to demolish it, completed by the end of 1939.
Today, a memorial, unveiled in 1995 at the original site, commemorates this important part of the town’s history.
