Hermann Weil mausoleum
The Hermann Weil mausoleum was built between 1924 and 1927 by the businessman Hermann Weil for himself, his wife and his carer. The mausoleum is in Waibstadt , a town in the Rhein-Neckar district in Baden-Württemberg , and is a protected architectural monument .
history
Hermann Weil's ancestors were Jews from Steinsfurt and were traditionally buried in the Jewish cemetery in Waibstadt . Hermann Weil (1868-1927) wanted to be buried there after his cremation, but the Jewish rite forbids urn burials in cemeteries, which is why from 1924 he built a mausoleum for his urn and the urns of his wife Rosa († 1912) and right next to the Jewish cemetery his nurse Steffi Krauth had it built. Weil acquired a 14.25 acres plot of land from the town of Waibstadt and had its own approx. 1000 m long road from the local settler to the building site to be built, for which he bought small plots from 45 affected land owners.
While Hermann Weil was still alive, the mausoleum was inaugurated on the occasion of the Waibstadt Heimatfest in September 1927. Hermann Weil himself gave the celebratory address and asked that care be taken to keep the place sacred. Regarding the determination of the spacious forecourt in front of the actual mausoleum domed building, he said: The forecourt of the mausoleum should keep its gates open for all those who love and admire the wonderful nature, associations of homeland care, the art of singing, everyone is welcome here and in their place. I just don't want any political associations allowed, neither from the left nor from the right, neither a swastika nor a steel helmet nor a red front. Weil died only a month later, and his urn was brought to the mausoleum as requested.
On November 10, 1938, the mausoleum was badly damaged as part of the so-called November pogroms and the three urns disappeared without a trace.
The mausoleum fell into disrepair and in 1965 the city of Waibstadt bought the building from the builder's heirs, who lived in New York and Argentina . Between 1980 and 1983 the city of Waibstadt, the Sinsheim Forestry Office and the supporting association of the Neckartal-Odenwald Nature Park jointly renovated the mausoleum. The exterior was extensively restored in 2011, and the restoration was completed in 2012.
architecture
The mausoleum was built according to plans by the Frankfurt architect Alfred Engelhard . It consists of an octagonal domed structure with an adjoining courtyard and a staircase in front. The dome building had a marble floor and a mosaic ceiling .
The mausoleum was Monument of the Month in May 2010 in Baden-Württemberg.
literature
- Heinz Teichert: On the history of the Jewish cemetery in the Mühlbergwald. In: Kraichgau. Contributions to landscape and local research. Edited by the Heimatverein Kraichgau. Episode 7/1981, pp. 240-242.
- H.-P. Ebert: Weil monument in Waibstadt. Building by a Jewish citizen . In: Schwarzbachtal Bote , No. 4, Waibstadt 1982.
Web links
- Information from the Realschule Waibstadt, with old photo (accessed on January 20, 2012)
- On the history of the cemetery near Alemannia Judaica (with current photos after the exterior renovation, end of 2011)
- Hermann Weil mausoleum at Jewish Cultural Heritage in Kraichgau eV
- Memorial of the month May 2010 (PDF; 111 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Appenzeller: From apprentice businessman to grain wholesaler. Dr. Hermann Weil from Steinsfurt in memory , in: Kraichgau. Contributions to landscape and local research , volume 11, 1989, p. 115.
- ^ Report of the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung on the completion of the renovation
Coordinates: 49 ° 17 ′ 52 ″ N , 8 ° 56 ′ 3 ″ E