Synagogue (Obergrombach)

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The last former synagogue in Obergrombach (now incorporated in Bruchsal ) is now a Protestant chapel, the penultimate one a residential building.

The Jewish community in Obergrombach

The first mention of a Jewish resident in Obergrombach comes from 1646, but a Jewish cemetery was laid out on Eichelberg as early as 1632 , which also served as a burial place for numerous communities in the surrounding area. Thereafter the community grew steadily up to a maximum of 58 people in 1839. In 1827 it was assigned to the Bruchsal Rabbinical District. In 1888 the community dissolved and the last Jews remaining in Obergrombach were assigned to the Untergrombach community . In 1933 only three people of Jewish faith lived in Obergrombach, one of whom was killed by the National Socialists.

Previous buildings

The Jewish community of Obergrombach initially set up a prayer room in a private house next to the church. In 1790 the first synagogue with a mikvah was built in Burggasse next to the old city gate and opposite the town hall. This building was used as a synagogue until the middle of the 19th century; afterwards it was used as a ritual bath and a women's bath and housed a kosher butcher's shop. Today it is a residential building.

  • The synagogue at the city gate

  • window

  • Doors

  • Back of the synagogue

Chapel and synagogue

In 1846 the former Catholic chapel and parish church of St. Martin became the property of the Jewish community. The late Gothic building from the 14th century was auctioned for demolition, but was preserved by the Jewish community with the exception of the choir and converted into a synagogue. Since the condition was made not to set up a ritual bath in the former church, the mikvah remained in the previous synagogue. After the dissolution of the Jewish community in 1888, the von Bohlen and Halbach family , who had taken Obergrombach castle and palace into their possession a few years earlier , bought the church and converted it back into a Christian chapel. The whitewashed frescoes from the time of the Speyer bishop Johannes II. Nix von Hoheneck (1459–1464), which, among other things, show the story of the Passion, were exposed again in 1890. This castle church is now used by the Protestant parish in the summer months. Much of the inventory from the synagogue period, including the stalls, candlesticks and the rest of the Torah shrine , is still in the building and continues to be used. Timbers of the roof structure could be dendrochronologically dated to the year 1447.

  • The castle or palace chapel

  • Gable end

  • Obergrombach Castle

  • Obergrombach Castle

There are information boards on the two buildings, each of which served as Obergrombach's synagogue for a while .

Web links

Commons : Synagoge (Obergrombach)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rainer Laun: It is worth taking a close look at every measure taken on the cultural monument. The roof of the castle chapel in Bruchsal-Obergrombach . In: News sheet of the state monument preservation . Volume 43, No. 2, 2014, doi: 10.11588 / nbdpfbw.2014.2.14885 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 4 ′ 35.3 "  N , 8 ° 35 ′ 17.6"  E