Basel, Switzerland. Photo: wiki commons.

The Jewish community of Basel, Switzerland, on Wednesday dedicated its first new synagogue in more than 80 years.

Backed by philanthropist Sami Rohr, the Feldinger Chabad Jewish Center is the first synagogue to open in Basel since 1929, Chabad.org reported.

“This was a very exciting day for us a community,” said Rabbi Zalmen Wishedski, the new Chabad center’s director.

Rohr fled Berlin with his parents after Kristallnacht in 1939, and the family was smuggled into Switzerland by 1943. His parents were sent to a refugee camp on the French-Swiss border, and Rohr—16 at the time—first lived in an orphanage, then was welcomed into the home of the Feldinger family.

“To our parents he was like a child,” said Gavriel Feldinger.