State Synagogue (Roth)

Exterior view

Wall painting with the inscription ואהבת לרעך כמוך ( love your neighbor because he is like you )

The state synagogue in Roth , a district of the municipality of Weimar in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse , is a former synagogue . It is carried out by a working group.

Location and building

The former state synagogue is inconspicuously located in a side street of Roth. The building has an almost square floor plan. It is built in half-timbered construction on a sandstone base and has a hipped roof.

history

In 1832 a fire destroyed the Rother synagogue, which was built next to a residential building. At the end of 1833 construction began on a new and larger synagogue, which was completed by 1838. A mikveh was built in the rear part of the synagogue property , but it was replaced by a new building in 1916. During the November pogroms in 1938 , the entire interior was destroyed. However, the synagogue was not burned down so as not to endanger the neighboring farms. On February 9, 1939, the Jewish community had to sell the synagogue.

In 1990 the community of Weimar (Lahn) bought the building with financial support from the district. In May 1995, the district committee decided to purchase the synagogue at a symbolic price.

Considerations to restore the synagogue had existed since the early 1980s. In 1988 a building appraisal was commissioned, which was presented in 1989. The exterior renovation took place from 1993 to 1995. One third each of the financing lay with the municipality, the district and the state of Hesse . In 1997 and 1998 the interior renovation financed by the district took place. After the restoration work was completed, the synagogue was opened to the public in March 1998 with a festive event.

Working group

The working group Landsynagoge Roth e. V. was founded in 1996. Since 1998 there has been a usage contract between the district as owner of the building and the working group. The association advocates the preservation of the former synagogue in Roth and its use as a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district, as a place of learning for school groups, confirmation groups and adults, and as a place for cultural encounters. For these reasons, the association regularly organizes events in the former synagogue. It is open to interested visitors at least once a month.

For its commitment, the association was awarded the Otto Ubbelohde Prize in 2003 , the Hessian Monument Protection Prize in 2005 and the First Hessian Local History Prize in 2006.

literature

Cornelia Dörr: The former synagogues in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district . In: Hessische Heimat , vol. 50 (2000), issue 1, p. 37f.
The former synagogues in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Edited by the district committee of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district, Marburg 1999. [On Roth pp. 7, 9, 103–113, 156, 164–166.]
Barbara Händler-Lachmann: Jewish cemeteries and synagogues. In: Marburg-Biedenkopf culture guide. Excerpts from the cultural and historical diversity of a district. Edited by the district committee of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district, cultural office, Marburg, 3rd, revised. Ed., Marburg 2000, pp. 137-145.
Monika Hölscher (Ed.): The former Roth regional synagogue and Trutzhain memorial and museum. (= Hessian history 1933-1945, 2). Wiesbaden 2013 ( Download pdf )
Herbert Kosog: The Jews of Roth. Slightly shortened and added a comment by Dietmar Haubfleisch. Version of the first in: Heimatwelt. Past and Present, ed. from the Weimar municipal administration, 5th issue. Weimar 1979, pp. 11-21 published article. Marburg 1998: [1] - Without reference to the author and previous publications of the text and with the omission of a paragraph again in: 700 years of Roth. Village history in texts and pictures. 1302-2002. Edited by the festival committee 700 years of Roth. Marburg 2002, pp. 179-186.
Karl Heinrich Rexroth: On the history of the two Star of David candlesticks in the restored synagogue of Roth (Weimar municipality, Marburg-Biedenkopf district). Marburg 1999: [2]