Synagogue (Ahrweiler)

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Former synagogue in Ahrweiler with the tablets of the law on top

The Ahrweiler synagogue is located in Ahrweiler , a district of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in the Ahrweiler district ( Rhineland-Palatinate ). It was built by the Jewish community in 1894 in Altenbaustraße. The building has been a listed building since 1982 .

Building history

In 1875 the number of parishioners in the Jewish community of Ahrweiler was 79 people entitled to vote. H. without women and underage boys, and the prayer room on Plätzerstrasse had therefore become too small. Since the house, where the Jewish prayer room had been located since the beginning of the 19th century, was sold in 1886 and the new owner gave the Jewish community a period of five years to find a new room for the synagogue, the community had to find a new solution for the prayer room. Leopold Heymann, a member of the Jewish community in Bad Neuenahr, sold the property with an area of ​​285 m² in Altenbaustraße to the Jewish community of Ahrweiler for 2,700 marks. The architect Jakob Nicolaus Gronert from Remagen was commissioned to design plans for the new synagogue, which were to be realized within the 10,000 Marks available to the community. Half of the construction cost had to be financed by a loan . The inauguration ceremony took place on October 21, 1894, at which the solemn address was given by Rabbi Laser Weingarten from Bad Ems .

layout

View from the women's gallery

The synagogue was built from brownish sandstone in a row with neighboring houses of the same height. The three high, Moorish-style windows on the gable side facing the street with horseshoe arches are striking . The gable is crowned by the tablets of the law on which the first letters of the Ten Commandments are carved in Hebrew script . Behind the synagogue there is an annex that cannot be seen from the street, which housed a classroom and the stairwell as access to the women's gallery . The main entrance for the men was on the west side, so that everyone entering the church was led from west to east. The building has a footprint of 11.5 by 9 meters.

The blue painted ceiling with painted gold stars as decoration, almost completely renewed today, as well as the neo-oriental style recognizable from the outside testify to the self-confidence of the Jewish community at that time.

time of the nationalsocialism

During the November pogrom of 1938 on November 10, 1938, the synagogue was desecrated by SA men. They smashed the windows, knocked over the benches. Parts of the interior were taken outside, as were cult objects, books and documents. They were thrown in a heap and set on fire. The fire brigade only protected the neighboring buildings.

On June 2, 1939, the synagogue was sold to a businessman who, however, left the building empty and planned to use it after the war. When the American occupation troops marched in in March 1945, the building was expropriated and initially ordered that the roof, which had been damaged by an air raid on January 29, 1945, should be repaired, the interior should be whitewashed, and windows and doors sealed. American soldiers came together with a military rabbi for a service in the building. After the return process was completed, the synagogue was sold to a Raiffeisen cooperative in 1955 . This set up a warehouse in it with a sales room for fertilizers , field, wine-growing and gardening tools. The entrance and the interior have been changed.

Civic Association Synagogue

Considerations for a restoration of the building go back to the 1970s. A youth group from the city, who visited Israel in 1976, wrote to the city administration after their return that they should think about restoring the synagogue. This triggered a discussion, which in 1977/78 led to decisions in the city council to keep the synagogue. On November 9, 1978 the Citizens' Association Synagogue eV was founded. After long negotiations, the association became the owner of the synagogue building in 1981 and carried out the restoration in the following years. The renovation work was completed with a ceremony on May 27, 1990. In the building used for cultural events (concerts, lectures, art exhibitions, readings, etc.) there is also a permanent exhibition on the history of the synagogue and the Jewish community of Ahrweiler.

Torah curtain

Torah curtain ( parochet )

A special exhibit in a showcase in the Toran niche is the original Torah curtain ( parochet ), which was sent to the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler city administration in Bad Neuenahr in 1989 by a Frankfurt antiques dealer. It bears the inscription: This curtain was made from the sacred donations that were generously made for the Eternal, from those who came here to Ahrweiler to experience recovery from their suffering. In the year 5642 (= 1881/82). The Torah curtain was a gift from Jewish spa guests. Due to the year, it was probably already hanging in the old prayer room in Plätzerstrasse. It is artistically designed using traditional symbols (Torah crown, lions, letters K and T for Keter Torah = Torah crown).

Jewish library

In the synagogue there is a library, donated by donors, with over 1000 books. It is accessible to everyone and covers the following topics: Judaism in general, places of Jewish life, Jewish literature, biographies, Hebrew literature, Jews and Christians, Jewish art and Israel.

literature

  • Hans Warnecke: The veil over the curtain. In: Heimatjahrbuch Kreis Ahrweiler 1992 , pp. 82–83.
  • Hans Warnecke: The synagogue in Ahrweiler. ARE Verlag, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler 1994, ISBN 3-929154-13-7 .
  • Hans Warnecke: Ahrweiler. In: Evidence of Jewish life in the Ahrweiler district , ed. v. Hans Warnecke, ARE Buchhandlung, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler 1998, ISBN 3-929154-23-4 , pp. 11-23.

Web links

Commons : Synagoge Ahrweiler  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 32 ′ 29.2 "  N , 7 ° 5 ′ 34.8"  E