Kolín Jewish Quarter

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Jewish Quarter Na Hradbách / Karoliny Světlé

The Jewish quarter in Kolín (German Kolin, older also Cologne an der Elbe), a Czech town in the Okres Kolín district in the Central Bohemian region of Středočeský kraj , is located in the old town of Kolín. The area of ​​the former ghetto, which also includes two cemeteries, is one of the most important examples of Jewish life in the country.

The former ghetto

Although the Jewish community in Kolín practically ceased to exist in the mid-1950s, after the end of the communist regime, from 1989 onwards, all objects in the district were extensively renovated, which continues to this day.

The relatively small Jewish quarter is delimited by Na hradbách street (or by the remains of the old fortification wall behind it) in the west, Karoliny Světlé street in the south, in the east to Kouřimská street, in the north to about Pražská street and the main square Karlovo náměstí ; Zlatá (Golden Lane) runs in the middle. As far as records are available, 38 houses are known from 1718, then 52 houses in 1843.

synagogue

The synagogue was built between 1642 and 1696 in the old town of Kolín on the site of a burnt down medieval prayer hall and was used by the Kolín Jewish community until 1953. It was rebuilt several times and a Jewish school was added in 1844. The oldest surviving part of the building is the Torah shrine , a gift from the Viennese citizen David Oppenheim. The synagogue is listed in the list of cultural monuments of the Czech Republic under the number 34261 / 2–738.

Other sights of the Jewish quarter

In addition to the synagogue, the most important sights of the Jewish quarter include Jüdische Strasse, which is also where the synagogue is located, as well as the Jewish school and the rabbi's house, also located on the street. While some buildings in the 20th century, especially the south side of Karoliny Světlé Street, were replaced by new buildings that were not designed in a stylish way, after 1989 they were renovated in the original style, such as the corner house Na hradbách 151 (today Pension na hradbách).

The former Židovská ulice (Jewish street) ran at right angles and was formed from today's Na hradbách and Karoliny Světlé streets in the center of the Jewish quarter (renamed in 1879 and 1927, respectively). The street, which, along with the synagogue, is one of the most valuable testimonies to the Jewish past in Kolín, was built in the second half of the 14th century. Various works refer to entries in the so-called Bohemian land tables ( libri contractuum , Czech "zemské desky"), in which (in part LC I) the street Plateam Judaeorum (ie translated Jewish street) 1379 is directly mentioned. 1976
Reports have been received of two setbacks in the development of the road. In 1633 the plague broke out in Kolín, which particularly affected the Jewish street. All the while the free movement of the population was severely restricted. In 1796 there was a major fire disaster that destroyed the Jewish street in particular.
  • Židovská škola (Jewish School)
The former Jewish school
The Jewish school in the Kolín Ghetto consisted of two buildings, in which classes took place at different times: the building of the so-called "old" school (now 126 in Na hradbách street, the southern wing of the school) and from the building of the so-called "new" school, which was added later due to lack of space and which is right next to it (today No. 157 in Na hradbách street, the northern part of the school). A recognized yeshiva (Jewish Talmudic college) apparently existed in Kolín as early as the late Middle Ages.
The originally Gothic building of the old school (No. 126) dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, but was later rebuilt and in some cases greatly expanded. Classes in the old school are documented from 1654, but the historian Vávra refers to reports about the Jewish school which are said to date from 1512. For most of the time it was a Jewish trivial school (with teaching in Hebrew). The old school building was partly made available to the respective rabbi as accommodation. A change came in 1839 when Daniel Frank took over his office as rabbi in Kolín. He decided to reintroduce the traditional teaching of a Jewish school. This succeeded when the school became known beyond the city limits as the Hebrew Institute.
For reasons of space, a classicist extension (No. 157) was built north of the old school from 1844 to 1846 - also at the instigation of Rabbi Frank. This parcel was vacant until then and served as access to the synagogue (after the extension, the synagogue could no longer be seen from the street). The city and the residents of Kolín participated with numerous donations. Some of the girls also had access to the school. The German Jewish school also moved into the building. The school was in operation until 1918. 1992 a plaque for over 2200 Jewish victims was attached to the school, from the entire Oberlandrat district were murdered in concentration camps Kolin.
  • Rabínův dům (Rabbi's House)
The rabbi's house (now 124 on Na hradbách Street) was originally Gothic, later rebuilt in Renaissance and Baroque styles. The building dates from the middle of the 18th century. It is in the neighborhood of the new school (No. 126). On the ground floor there are three well-preserved ritual Tachbäder, called. Mikvaot from the late 19th century, which are fed with spring water. The last rabbi in Kolín Richard Leder (rabbinate 1917-1953) lived in this house .

Two cemeteries

In addition to the historical sites mentioned, which are located directly on the area of ​​the former ghetto, the history of Judaism in Kolín also includes two cemeteries:

Old Jewish Cemetery

Tombstone of Elijah (1621)

The Old Jewish Cemetery (Czech. Starý židovský hřbitov ), located on the western edge of the Old Town, was used by the Kolín Jewish community from the 15th century until 1887/88, when it was replaced by the new cemetery, making it one of the oldest Art in the Czech Republic. The oldest of the approximately 2500 tombstones ( Mazewot ) date from 1492. Most of the stones are made of sandstone , but there are also tombstones made of red marble .

New Jewish cemetery

The New Jewish Cemetery (Czech. Nový židovský hřbitov ) was established in 1886/87 and replaced the Old Jewish Cemetery. The cemetery, which is a little over 7000 m² today, is located on the right bank of the Elbe in the district of Zálabí and has a little over 1000 tombstones on it. There is also a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust on the cemetery grounds.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Jiří Fiedler: Kolín , report on the Jewish community in Kolín, online at: holocaust.cz / ...
  2. ↑ Synagoga , in: Poche E. et.al .: Umělecké památky Čech 2., Nakladatelství ČSAV Academia, Prague 1978, online at: cestyapamatky.cz/.../synagoga
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Václav Nedbal: Židé v Kolíně a okolí: Místa paměti , Univerzita Karlova, 2018, page 37f. and 39, online at: is.cuni.cz / ...
  4. ↑ Stanislav Petr: Nejstarší židovská kniha města Kolína z let 1598-1729 a správa židovské obce v tomto období , in: Zuzana Miškovská (ed.): Sborník z historie Židů na Kolínsku , Kolín 1992, page 8, cited above. according to: Václav Nedbal: Židé v Kolíně a okolí: Místa paměti , Univerzita Karlova, 2018, page 21, note 72, online at: is.cuni.cz / ...
  5. ↑ Moritz Popper: On the history of the Jews in Kolin (Bohmen) in the 14th century , in: Monthly for History and Science of Judaism, 1893/94, page 220, quoted. to: Zuzana Věchetová: Židovská obec v Kolíně. Židovští obyvatelé v soupisových pramenech 16.-18. století , Karlova Universita, Prague, 2006, page 18, note 81, online at: anzdoc.com / ...
  6. ↑ a b c d Richard Feder: Dějiny Židů v Kolíně , in: Hugo Gold (ed.), The Jews and Jewish communities of Bohemia in the past and present , Jüdischer Buch- und Kunstverlag, Brno-Prague 1934, page 277ff., Online at: digi.landesbibliothek.at / ...
  7. ↑ a b c Články z domova. Kolín - Jeruzalém na Labi , Portal Czech Travel Press (“Association Tchéque des Journalistes et Écrivains du Tourisme”), online at: czechtravelpress.cz / ...
  8. ↑ a b c Židovské ghetto , website of the Kolín Tourist Information Center (TIC), online at: tickolin.cz / ...
  9. ↑ a b c Zuzana Věchetová: Židovská obec v Kolíně. Židovští obyvatelé v soupisových pramenech 16.-18. století , Karlova Universita, Prague, 2006, page 34, online at: anzdoc.com / ...
  10. ↑ Josef Vávra: Dějiny královského města Kolína nad Labem, JL Bayer, Kolín 1888, 265 pages, online at: ia802700.us.archive.org / ...
  11. ↑ Starý židovský hřbitov , online at: cestyapamatky.cz /.../ stary ...
  12. ↑ Nový židovský hřbitov , online at: cestyapamatky.cz /.../ novy ...

See also

Web links

Commons : Kolín Jewish Community  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 1 '40 "  N , 15 ° 11' 55.1"  E