Synagogue (Unterdeufstetten)

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The synagogue in Fichtenau, in the municipality of Unterdeufstetten in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg was the church of the local Jewish community.

Jewish community Unterdeufstetten

The Jewish community of Unterdeufstetten existed from the 18th century to 1912. At times it was considered the poorest Jewish community in Württemberg . Most of its members made a living from collecting rags, small barter deals or begging. The first Jewish families were accepted into the brickworks in 1713; The number of Jewish residents of Unterdeufstetten reached a high in 1858 with 65 people. Then the number went down continuously; the last inhabitants of the Jewish faith emigrated after the First World War .

From 1832 the community was a branch of Crailsheim . She had had her own schoolhouse since 1876, before the children had attended the local Catholic school. A ritual bath ( mikvah ) at Rotbach (building no. 125) existed from the early 18th century until 1912. The dead of the community were buried in the Jewish cemetery in Schopfloch .

With the teacher Samuel W. Eppstein, the community of Unterdeufstetten temporarily housed the only Sofer ( Torah writer ) in Württemberg. Eppstein died in 1901 at the age of 40.

Synagogue buildings

Initially, the community used a synagogue in the brickworks, which they maintained at their own expense. In addition, two guilders had to be paid annually to the manor of the Unterdeufstetten manor in order to obtain permission to hold church services. The entire brickworks was demolished in 1755 because it had become too dilapidated. The Jewish families were resettled in two six-family houses, in one of which the top apartment remained empty and was set up as a prayer room. For the first ten years, the users of these houses had to pay rent, then they received it as a gift, including the slaughterhouse with the baking kitchen and mikveh.

The prayer room was closed during a renovation in 1865. From then on three chambers were used for prayer, while at the same time donations were collected for a new synagogue that was already under construction. This building, completed at the end of July 1765, cost 414 guilders. It was built by Joseph Eichmann. The seats in the synagogue were auctioned off at regular intervals. But even this measure did not bring in enough money. After numerous Jewish families had emigrated, the synagogue, which at that time still had a debt of 227 guilders, was sold to two Christians for 140 guilders in 1777. Only the cult objects and two brass candlesticks remained in Jewish possession.

After new members of the congregation immigrated, services were apparently again held in a prayer room from around 1785, but this came to an end after Unterdeufstetten became a subsidiary of Crailsheim and therefore no public Jewish worship could be held in the congregation. The Brown Bacher rabbi suggested in 1837 before a visitation, again set a certified instructor and allow regular services, which led indirectly to build a new synagogue, since the states were considered unsustainable in Unterdeufstetten. At that time the congregation celebrated its services in a “wretched attic” and it was said that “a more unhappy congregation in the whole country could no longer be found”.

The new synagogue was built in 1848/49. It cost 2591 guilders, of which 350 guilders could be financed by donations from all over the country. The government had contributed 300 guilders. After the construction, the community still owed 1,300 guilders, which is why a collection took place throughout Württemberg, as the Unterdeufstetten Jews could not even pay the interest on this amount.

After the community was dissolved in 1912, the synagogue (building no. 142, today Dinkelsbühler Str. 9), the schoolhouse (building no. 130) and the bath (building no. 125) were auctioned off to the public. The total proceeds amounted to 5516 marks. The former synagogue, converted into a residential building, still exists.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of the community and synagogue on Alemannia-Judaica.de
  2. ↑ Quoted from Joachim Hahn and Jürgen Krüger: Synagogen in Baden-Württemberg , Volume 2: Places and facilities , Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1843-5 , p. 125.
  3. ^ Synagogue Unterdeufstetten in the Synagogue Internet Archive of the Technical University of Darmstadt ( Memento from February 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 49 ° 3 ′ 15.1 ″  N , 10 ° 14 ′ 1 ″  E