Creator Bio
Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff
Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff was an eminent German architect and artistic adviser to Prince Leopold Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau. He is known for the German neoclassical buildings he designed, particularly for those in the prince’s landscaped garden in Wörlitz. In 1786, he was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia to redesign several rooms in royal palaces in Potsdam and Berlin. He became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts and Mechanical Sciences in 1789. In 1796, he took over the artistic direction of the Chalkographische Gessellschaft in Dessau, an organization established to make art available to the public through reproductions in etchings.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Synagogue in the Park at Wörlitz, Germany
Designed in the German neoclassical style, the Wörlitz synagogue was modeled on Rome’s Temple of Vesta, featuring a circular building with a conical roof. It was commissioned by Prince Leopold…
Related Guide
Synagogue Architecture, 1750–1880
Synagogues built in Europe in the age of Emancipation had somewhat contradictory goals. On the one hand, they were to articulate a proud Jewishness, which by definition meant a distinctive style. On the other hand, they wanted to announce that they were deeply embedded in the European cityscape.