The synagogue is the most remarkable monument of the European modernist movement in Slovakia. It is situated on an irregular and sloping corner lot, yet its composition is symmetrical. Transitional parts of the building are sensitively designed with terraces and staircases. The central space was designed for 450 men and a choir for 300 women. The main hall is overarched with a dome having a diameter of 16 meters and a height of 17.6 meters. The building expression is defined by a sturdy main volume divided by clusters of narrow windows with beveled window sills. Horizontal low-rise parts of the front and rear entrance and the side facade gave the building a dignified and serious character. This is further enhanced by the hemispherical vaulting. The building belongs amongst the few Slovak synagogues which dealt with the traditional building type by means of modern functionalist architecture, although the material (stone) and the composition (symmetry) draw from historic architecture. Behrens' bid won the competition attended among others by J. Hoffmann and the local, M. M. Scheer. The original interior has been rebuilt and the building served as a movie theatre.
Bibliography:
Die neue Synagoge in Žilina. Forum 1, 1931, s. 280 – 282.
EISLER, M.: Die Synagoge in Silein. Menorah 9, 1931, 11, s. 525 – 531.
KUSÝ, Martin: Architektúra na Slovensku 1918 – 1945. Bratislava, Pallas 1971. 186 s.
KRINSKY, Carol Herselle: Europas Synagogen: Architektur, Geschichte und Bedeutung. Stuttgard, Deutsche Verlags - Anstalt 1988, s. 138.
BOŘUTOVÁ, Dana: Neologická synagóga. Architektúra & urbanizmus 29, 1995, 1 – 2, s. 49 – 53.
FOLTYN, Ladislav: Slovakische Architektur und die tschechische Avantgarde 1918 – 1939. Dresden, Verlag des Kunst 1991. 236 s.
ANDERSON, Stanford: Peter Behrens and a New Architecture for the Twentieth Century. Cambridge 2000. 430 s.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002. 512 s.
DULLA, Matúš: Posledná synagóga: vznik a podoba synagógy neológov v Žiline od Petra Behrensa. Architektúra & urbanizmus 38, 2004, 3 – 4, s. 103 – 120.
Katalóg Zachovaných Synagogálnych objektov Slovenska. Maroš Borský, spolupráca Matúš Dulla. Architektúra & urbanizmus 38, 2004, 3 – 4, s. 137-172.
BORSKÝ, Maroš: Synagogue Architecture in Slovakia. Bratislava, Jewish Heritage Foundation – Menorah 2007. 150 s.
PILNÝ, Ivan – SZALAY, Peter – CEBECAUEROVÁ, Daniela: Behrens pod povrchom. Architektúra & urbanizmus 47, 2013, 1 – 2, s. 84 – 105.
