Jewish cemetery (Weimar)

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Weimar Jewish cemetery general view

The Jewish cemetery in Weimar was laid out in 1774. It is located on the corner of Leibnizallee / Musäusstraße (hall 38 / parcel 244). The cemetery used to be much larger and was originally 9.26 acres , of which only an area of ​​2.35 acres remains.

history

The first Jewish families settled in Weimar under the tutelage of Anna Amalia . The reason was probably an offer to the banker, merchant and cloth merchant Jacob Elkan , who was brought to Weimar with his family and appointed a privileged court Jew . In addition, he continued his cloth trade with the citizens of Weimar. Goethe recorded his busy work in one line in the elegy Auf Mieding's death :

The active Elkan runs with much of the rest, and this fermentation points to a festival.

In 1774 Elkan suggested the establishment of a Jewish cemetery in Weimar, because Jews were not allowed to be buried in Christian churchyards and the graves of believing Jews were not allowed to be leveled until the arrival of the Messiah and the associated resurrection. The Duchess Anna Amalia granted Elkan's request for a piece of land as a burial place. Members of the Elkan, Löser, Callmann, Moritz, Ulmann and Lichtenstein families were buried here in connection with a neighboring property that the Ulmann family acquired in 1776. Burials took place here from 1775 to 1892.

The Jewish community in Weimar did not grow, however, and the last members of the family emigrated at the beginning of the 20th century. As a result, the cemetery fell into disrepair, the surrounding wall was partially torn down, tombstones were overturned and covered with earth. The cemetery was used for other purposes. In 1952, ten tombstones still found with partly weathered and damaged Hebrew characters were re-erected and, from 1982, brought into the current order. A few years ago the small complex was designated as a cultural monument .

literature

  • Roland Dressler, Jochen Klauss: Weimar cemeteries. Böhlau, Weimar et al. 1996, ISBN 3-412-00496-0 , p. 32 f.

Web links

Commons : Jewish Cemetery  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ′ 30 ″  N , 11 ° 19 ′ 56 ″  E