Smart Map of Jewish History

The Vienna region has been closely linked with the history of numerous sites of Jewish communities, families, and buildings since the Middle Ages. Through tracing and exploring as well as through virtually reconstructing the destroyed synagogues of Vienna and Austria, a broad public awareness of the lost Jewish cultural heritage and sites can be raised. 

The project "Smart Map of Jewish History" pursues the following objectives: to close gaps in research and extend the field of study to further significant Jewish communal institutions such as cemeteries and social facilities (e.g. hospitals); to make existing and new research results available through contemporary digital platforms with local and regional connections, in order to reach a broad and diverse audience beyond the established institutions (such as the Jewish Museum Vienna).

With the help of modern digital platforms, the aim is to identify, visualize, and present the cultural heritage of Jewish communities in Lower Austria, Burgenland, and Vienna, as well as in Bratislava and its surroundings, in a low-threshold and engaging way for the public. In the past, these people and communities were closely connected; ideas, architecture (today’s monuments), the economy, and social life influenced one another. Reviving the virtual presence of Jewish life and history in the region not only benefits tourism (for instance, in 2023 the Jewish Museum in Prague welcomed more than 552,000 visitors, compared with around 59,000 in Vienna and around 7,000 in Bratislava), but also contributes to strengthening pro-European values through the themes carried by the project (diversity, community, multi-religiosity, multiculturalism). Through the project, the attractiveness of the region for both domestic and international tourists and visitors can be enhanced.

The project is based on work by Bob Martens and Herbert Peter who have been engaged in tracing and virtually reconstructing the destroyed synagogues of Vienna and Austria. The two scientists are renowned for their expertise nationally and internationally and are well-connected specialists in digitization and synagogue architecture.