[[Image:Old synagog meal.jpg|thumb|Alte synagog in meals ] ] [[Image:Old person synagog meal.jpg|thumb|Alte synagog, Meal ] ] The Alte Synagoge (en: Old Synagogue) is a cultural meeting centre and memorial place of the city Essen. It is in the centre of the city in the Steeler Straße 29, close to today's city hall. The memorial centre was founded in 1980 and is accommodated in the former synagogue building of the pre-war Jewish community. The synagogue together with the attached Rabbinerhaus (House of the Rabbi), which today houses the archives of the city of Essen, was finished after a two-year construction period in 1913. Back then it was actually consecrated as the Neue Synagoge (New Synagogue). Today the building is one of the largest, best preserved and architecturally most impressing testimonies of Jewish culture in pre-war Germany.
The Essen synagogue was the cultural and social centre of the Jewish community. In 1933 it counted approximately 5000 members. It served this function up to the so-called "Reichspogromnacht" of 9-10 November 1938. At this night it was strongly damaged in the inside by plundering, though the exterior remained nearly intact. The building managed to survive the Second World War without further damage. From 1945-1959 the former synagogue stood unused as ruin at the edge of the Essen city center. In 1959 the surviving Jewish community, after it had used up to then the earlier Rabbinerhaus als their centre, to build a new, much smaller synagogue which is the current place of worship. In the same year the city Essen acquired the former synagogue and in the following years of 1960/1961 renovated it into a museum for industrial design, the "Haus Industrieform". For this purpose all still existing elements were removed or painted over. The torah-shrine was destroyed; the mosaics and ornaments were painted over. Following the spirit of the time, the inside was completely changed and redesigned to a much sober form to fit the purpose, no longer reminding of the time as a synagogue. The main prayer hall was divided by a new floor, the ceiling was covered-up. A fire, caused by a short-circuit, severely damaged the Design exhibition in 1979. This event and a changed attitude to handling historic buildings finally caused the city-council of Essen to found the current institution ”Alte Synagoge”. From 1986-1988 the interior and the building, with financial means provided by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, was reconstructed, so that it is again recognizable in its earlier outlines.
Today the Alte Synagoge is an open house for meetings and discussions. It offers a meeting-place for those interested in Jewish culture and religion past and present. Cultural events such as concerts, theatre-plays, and readings are also offered.