Jewish Welfare Center
Jewish social facility of the Cologne Synagogue Community in Neuehrenfeld — housed in the historic buildings of the former Israelite Asylum for the Sick and Elderly.
The Jewish Welfare Center is a social institution of the Cologne Synagogue Community, located at Ottostraße 85 in the Neuehrenfeld district. It occupies the former buildings of the "Israelite Asylum for the Sick and Elderly."
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Jewish social facility of the Cologne Synagogue Community
- Location
- Ottostraße 85, Neuehrenfeld district, Ehrenfeld borough
- Status
- Listed heritage monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Occupied
- 2003, following renovation and new construction
- Predecessor
- Israelite Asylum for the Sick and Elderly
The Jewish Welfare Centre traces back to an asylum that was open to all denominations from the very beginning – at times up to 80 percent of its patients were non-Jewish, despite it being an explicitly Jewish institution.
Today
The community moved into the building complex in 2003 after a major renovation and expansion. It now houses the community administration, a social counseling service, a daycare center, and a primary school. A residential home for the elderly rounds out the facility as a Jewish senior care institution.
Origins on Silvanstraße
The roots of the institution go back to the "Israelite Asylum for the Sick and Elderly," originally established at Silvanstraße 10–12 in Köln-Altstadt-Süd and inaugurated on January 12, 1869. The building was founded through a donation from the five Eltzbacher brothers, who gifted the hospital in memory of their parents. It cared for poor, sick, and elderly people, providing free treatment to those who could demonstrate need.
Open to All Faiths
Although Jewish in character, the institution was open to people of all faiths from the very beginning, and no one was to be compelled to participate in any religious practice. At times, up to 80 percent of patients were non-Jewish. The hospital's medical director from 1885 to 1935 was Privy Councillor Benjamin Auerbach, a well-known figure in Cologne.
The Move to Neuehrenfeld
After several expansions, the dense development of the Severinsviertel left no room for further growth. A donation of 270,000 marks from Ernest Cassel in 1901 made it possible to plan a new building. In 1902, the board of trustees acquired a roughly 21,550-square-meter plot in Neuehrenfeld, between Ottostraße, Nußbaumerstraße, and what would later become the Ehrenfeldgürtel — the site where the Welfare Center stands today.
Timeline
- 1867Purchase of plot on Silvanstraße for the new asylum (7 March)
- 1869Inauguration of the Israelite Asylum on Silvanstraße (12 January)
- 1881Fundraising appeal; acquisition of adjacent plot and extension built
- 1889Second expansion: garden building connected to main building, prayer hall erected
- 1892Purchase of neighbouring house on Silvanstraße, integrated into main building
- 1901Ernest Cassel donates 270,000 marks to the Jewish community for a new building
- 1902Purchase of a 21,550 m² plot in Cologne-Neuehrenfeld (Ottostraße)
- 2003Move into the newly built and renovated complex at Ottostraße 85
Map
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26