The duke, a follower of the Enlightenment, had the synagogue built as an expression of his tolerance policy but also as an ornament for his gardens.

It was the sole synagogue in the tiny town of Wörlitz and was used by its Jewish community in an era when Jews lived in German principalities by permission of the prince (here: Anhalt-Dessau).

[1] The synagogue was designed by the Duke's court architect Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff, who modeled it after the "Temple of Vesta" in Tivoli.

One door led to the ground floor, entering the room opposite the Torah Ark.

[1] Although the building was badly damaged during the 1938 Nazi Kristallnacht pogrom, the park's administration was able to prevent its complete demolition.