A Viennese architect Max Fleischer drew up the original plans for the synagogue in Gothic style with granite buttresses and twin 65-metre (213 ft) towers.

City councillors rejected the plan in a clear case of tower envy as they felt that the grand erection would compete with the nearby Cathedral of St. Bartholomew.

Emmanuel Klotz put forward a new design in 1890 retaining the original ground plan and hence the cornerstone, but lowering the towers by 20 metres (66 ft) and creating the distinctive look combining Romantic Revival and Renaissance Revival styles covered with Oriental decorations and a giant Star of David.

The design was quickly approved and master builder Rudolf Štech completed work in 1893 for the bargain price of 162,138 florins.

The last regular service was held in 1973, when the synagogue was closed down and fell into disrepair under communist rule.