Synagogue (Creglingen)

Former synagogue Creglingen

The former synagogue in Creglingen in the Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg was probably built at the beginning of the 17th century.

history

Jud Simson zu Reinßbronn (today: Reinsbronn district ) was able to acquire a house in Badgasse 3 in 1618 and probably set up a prayer room there a little later. In Creglingen there was definitely one in the 17th century. Two young Jewish men were murdered in the Creglingen synagogue during the Thirty Years War . The building remained in the family for several generations and from 1704 it belonged to Samson's great-grandson Lazar Moses. A prayer room or a synagogue in this house will have been located below him at the latest. There could also have been a prayer room in the house at Lindleinstraße 30 for a time, possibly even before a prayer room was set up in Badgasse 3. From the 17th to the early 20th century, this house (called "the old Jewish house") was also owned by Jews. In 1766 the house was bought by Eysig Jacob and he found a “Juden-Tauch” (ritual bath) in the basement and Hebrew letters cut into the old window sills in the room. Therefore there could have been a prayer room here too.

The construction of a synagogue was planned by the Jewish community as early as 1765. The prayer room, which had previously been in a Jewish residence, was not seen as a permanent solution. In order to build a “school” with an apartment for the teacher, the community bought a dilapidated house next to the digestion tower (today: Neue Straße 28 ). Due to a delay, construction did not begin until May 1799 and the synagogue was inaugurated in 1800. The prayer room was on the first floor of the building (above the school room on the ground floor), and the women's gallery was on the second floor. Since 1849 the digestion tower, which is structurally connected to the synagogue, has also been owned by the Jewish community. The community later rented the tower apartment to Christian citizens who received poor relief. The digestion tower was made available free of charge as a youth hostel at the request of the city. For this reason the tower was rebuilt in 1932/33.

The synagogue was thoroughly renovated in the 1860s. The community tried to save money on some changes in the interior design due to their very bad financial situation. The Württemberg King Karl was asked by the cantor Kahn and the three community leaders to give the Creglingen community "three chandeliers for one price" to decorate the synagogue. But to no avail, since the court marshal of the chief steward's office announced on August 22nd, 1870 that “there have been no such expendable or obsolete chandeliers in the royal palace administration for a long time”. After the synagogue repair and the purchase of a teacher's apartment, which was necessary at the same time, the community had a debt of 1,450 guilders despite the granting of a state contribution.

The interior of the synagogue building was demolished during the November pogrom in 1938 and some windows were demolished. The building and digestion tower came into the possession of the city of Creglingen in 1939. Both were used as youth hostels until they were converted into private storage rooms in 1970. The building was restored in 1987 and has been used as a restaurant ever since. Since 1987 a notice board has been attached to remember the history of the house. In spring 2002 the digestion tower was restored.