Synagogue (Weisenau)
The Weisenau Synagogue is a synagogue from the first half of the 18th century in the Weisenau district of Mainz . It is the only synagogue in Mainz that survived the Nazi era and the oldest surviving building in Weisenau. The synagogue has been open again since 1996.
location
The church is located on today's Wormser Straße ( B 9 ) at the end of the Weisenau district in the direction of Mainz. It is a small, one-story building with a gable roof directly on the steep slope. At this point a spring emerges from the rock. The sheltered location within close development helped to save this building from political violence at first and later from decay. From the street you can only see a piece of the tiled roof, the building itself can be reached through a narrow, elongated corridor that is closed by a wooden door towards the street and provides access to the property behind the front berths.
history
The sacred building was built in 1737/38 on the foundations of an older secular building after Anselm Franz Freiherr von Ingelheim had granted the Jewish community a loan of 3,400 guilders to purchase the property. During the siege of Mainz in 1793, Weisenau was an independent village in front of the city walls. Buildings were damaged, including the synagogue. The restorations in the mid-1990s revealed that the entire roof structure obviously had to be replaced. This renewal was not carried out until 1818. Obviously the number of Jewish community members decreased significantly during the French occupation and there was initially no money for the renovation measures.
One of the last religious acts in the Weisenau synagogue was a wedding in 1938, before it was looted on the night of the pogrom from November 8th to 9th, 1938 . The building was not set on fire, however, as the flames were to be feared spreading to the neighboring, very closely spaced houses.
In the post-war period, the synagogue was forgotten and served as a chicken coop, shed and warehouse. It was not until 1978 that the building's original meaning was recognized. The city of Mainz then bought the building from the sisters of the Vincentines , who in the meantime had owned the building. Mainz citizens founded a development association in 1992, with the help of which the restoration work was supported. On May 27, 1996 (Whit Monday), exactly 900 years after Gezerot Tatnu , the persecution of 1096, to which over 500 Jews are believed to have fallen victim in Mainz, the Ner Tamid was re-ignited by Rabbi Leo Trepp .
In the meantime, a mikveh has also been found that was fed by the spring that emerged here.
literature
- Friedrich Schütz : Sketches on the history of the Jewish community in Weisenau near Mainz . in: Mainzer Zeitschrift 92, 1987, pp. 151-179.
- Otto Böcher : The synagogue in Mainz-Weisenau . In: Sachor. Contributions to Jewish history and memorial work in Rhineland-Palatinate, 4th year, issue 3/94, issue No. 8, pp. 5–8 ( digitized version ).
- Dieter Krienke: Weisenau - synagogue and mikvahs. “Rediscovery” and rescue of the Weisenau synagogue . In: The Mainz synagogues. An overview of the Mainz synagogue structures with additional articles on important Mainz rabbis, the old Jewish quarter and the libraries of the Jewish communities . Association for Social History, Mainz 2008, pp. 119ff.
- Dieter Krienke: The synagogue in Weisenau - building history and preservation of monuments . In: Max Brückner (Ed.): Traces under ashes. Documentation on the history of the former Jewish community of Weisenau near Mainz (= Mainzer archaeological writings, Volume 15). Mainz 2016, ISBN 978-3-935970-22-8 , pp. 191-202.
Web links
- Information on the Friends of the Mainz-Weisenau Synagogue
- Information on Jewish history and the Weisenau Synagogue at Alemannia Judaica
- Udo Mosbach: The former synagogue in Mainz-Weisenau at regional history in Rheinhessen
- Weisenau synagogue near the city of Mainz
Coordinates: 49 ° 59 ′ 8.3 " N , 8 ° 17 ′ 55.2" E