The synagogue serves the Jews of Graz, Styria, Carinthia, and southern parts of Burgenland.

Destroyed by the Nazis in 1938 on Kristallnacht, the depleted congregation used temporary premises until the current building was completed in 2000.

[1] Designed by Maximilian Katscher in the Renaissance Revival style, the imposing square brick building was topped by a dome cupola, 30 metres (98 ft) high.

[2] Despite significant local Antisemitism,[b] there was a large influx of Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe in the wake of World War I.

The community covers the States of Styria, Carinthia and the districts of Oberwart, Güssing and Jennersdorf in Burgenland.

[3] On October 21, 1998, all parties in Graz's Municipal Council unanimously resolved to reconstruct the synagogue.

A steel black obelisk, constructed on the site of the synagogue in 1988, was incorporated in the project and is now found under the Bimah.

[citation needed] The synagogue is located at David Herzog Place, named after the last Rabbi for Styria and Carinthia before the Second World War, who escaped Graz after Kristallnact and sought refuge in England.

That position is currently held by Elie Rosen, a well-known member of the Austrian Jewish community.

[7] In 2021, an Austrian man was handed a three-year custodial sentence for vandalizing the synagogue and other antisemitic attacks.