“On 25 August at 11 o’clock in the forenoon, the congregation gathered for the first time in its new
magnificent House of God, which in that moment
was to be dedicated to its purpose. The synagogue
was filled to its last seat then in part out into its
wide aisles by a crowd in a festive mood. The first
rows of seats were reserved for the guests of honour. […] The speech on this festive occasion was given by Rabbi Dr. Werner and dealt with the relationship of religion to ethics, to optimism, and to science, and developed out of that the task and the meaning of the modern House of God.”
(Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums, 4. September
1896)