Worms synagogue

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Worms synagogue. Cut to the right is the Haus zur Sonne , the former community center of the Jewish community.
Worms synagogue, rear view.

Today the synagogue in Worms belongs to the Jewish community of Mainz . It goes back to the house of prayer founded in 1034 and has since been destroyed and rebuilt several times. It represents an important sight of the city, which is mostly visited in connection with the old Jewish cemetery Heiliger Sand .

Since 2021, the synagogue and the Holy Sands have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage in the context of the ShUM cities .

location

The synagogue was built on the edge of Judengasse . There the street widens to today's Synagogenplatz, from which the Hintere Judengasse branches off to the side . The synagogue was the center of the Jewish quarter and the central structure of an ensemble of Jewish religious buildings, which consists of male and female synagogue, the Talmud -Lehrhaus, the Mikwe consists synagogue and the garden. The former parish hall of the Jewish community, the Haus zur Sonne , and the Raschi House , which was built on the cellars of the former dance hall, are adjacent. A total of 39 building inscriptions have been preserved on the building.

story

First synagogue

Donor inscription from 1034

A Jewish community in Worms probably came into being in the 10th century. It was one of the largest and most respected in the empire and had up to 300 members.

The first verifiable synagogue in Worms was financed in 1034 by Jakob ben David and his wife Rahel , which is documented in a donor inscription from the 12th century, which is now walled in next to the entrance to the men's synagogue. This first synagogue building was damaged during the persecution of the Jews at the time of the First Crusade in 1096 and the Second Crusade in 1146. It was located in the area of ​​the attached Talmud teaching house, i.e. to the west of the current building, and the course of the western wall of today's male synagogue and that of the eastern wall of the first synagogue are identical over part of the area. The oldest parts of the building are likely to be found here in the area of ​​the foundations.

Second synagogue building

12th to 20th century

Above: anteroom
middle: women's synagogue
Below: men's synagogue,
extension on the left: "Raschi-Lehrhaus"

The synagogue was rebuilt in 1174/75. in the Romanesque style of the Worms Dombauhütte (the adoption of culture and art forms from the majority society surrounding Jews was common.) This component is now also known as the men's synagogue . It is vaulted with two naves, with two high columns adorned with richly decorated capitals and four corner consoles , which already had a six-bay vault in the Middle Ages. This makes it the oldest verifiable building of this type, which became the standard throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. The bima , the lectern on which the Torah lies during services, is located between the two pillars. Synagogues of this type with two columns were built, among other things. in Regensburg , Vienna , Prague or Krakow .

The Jewish community of Worms built the first known and traditional women's synagogue (women's school) in 1212/13. It was separated from the men's building by a wall with a door and five listening slots, into which two arcades were broken in 1841/42 . Based on this Worms model, other women's synagogues were built - for example those in Speyer - albeit in a different architectural style. The early women's synagogues in Worms and Speyer are also the largest of their kind in medieval Ashkenaz.

In 1185/86 the underground mikvah (the ritual bath) was built southwest of the synagogue.

During the persecution of the Jews at the time of the Black Death in 1349, the synagogue was again badly damaged, the ceiling vaults destroyed and the walls partially demolished. During the reconstruction after 1355, Gothic forms were chosen for the windows and the vaulted ceiling.

In the pogrom of 1615 the Talmud school was destroyed and the vaulted ceiling and walls of the synagogue were again badly damaged. The synagogue was then expanded for the last time in 1616–1620. A report on the events can be found in the collection of stories by Juspa Schammes , Ma'asseh nissim .

A porch was built north of the women's synagogue. In 1623/24 the so-called Raschi- Lehrhaus was built as a yeshiva , donated by David Oppenheim. The building was attached to the west wall of the men's synagogue. It cannot be entered from inside the synagogue, but has its own entrance. The designation as "Rashi-Yeshiva" testifies to its great importance. To this day it is an almost iconographic building in Jewish memory, of which a. a (somewhat scaled-down) replica in the Museum of the Jewish People ( Beit Hatefutsot ) in Tel Aviv is evidence.

The town fire of 1689 during the Palatinate War of Succession caused serious damage again . The buildings could only be restored around 1700, the interior was renewed in the Baroque style.

Since the middle of the 19th century, the majority of the Jewish community in Worms tended towards the liberal direction . Therefore, in 1842, the partition between the men's and women's synagogues was torn down. It had five small windows and a door connecting the two parts of the building. It was replaced by the two pointed arches that are used today for the passage and are neo-Gothic . On June 5, 1863, the head of state, Grand Duke Ludwig III, visited for the first time . , the synagogue. In 1868 an organ was installed in the synagogue. Before that, the part of the community with orthodox convictions, financed by the grain merchant Leopold Levy, had built the Levy synagogue north of Synagogenplatz , which was consecrated in 1875. According to the will of the founder, however, it remained the property of the Worms community in order to prevent it from being split up into smaller groups.

Destruction under the National Socialists

During the November pogrom in 1938 , the Worms synagogue was set on fire and burned down completely on the night of November 9th to 10th, 1938. The walls that were still preserved were then brought down by oil presses, a measure that dragged on until the end of 1940 or beginning of 1941. Afterwards there were only a few remains of the wall at a low height. Between 1938 and 1945, individual components were salvaged from the ruins by Friedrich Maria Illert , including a copy of the donor's inscription and reused in the later construction.

Third construction

Building history

The first considerations for a reconstruction already existed in 1947. In 1949 the north portal of the men's synagogue was rebuilt from the recovered material. Incidentally, the complex was enclosed by a brick wall at this time. The further procedure was not entirely undisputed, also because the Jewish community in Worms had been wiped out during the Shoah and constant religious use by a community seemed to be ruled out in the future. The driving forces behind the reconstruction were Isidor Kiefer and Friedrich Maria Illert .

Reconstruction began in 1956/57 with two preliminary archaeological investigations . This was followed by the clearing of rubble by the end of 1957 . Then the walls were bricked up again. The reconstruction was largely carried out in the form of a reconstruction with - if still available - parts of the building that were preserved. The hipped roof is not reconstructed, but new . The organ gallery from the 19th century was not reinstalled. The Mainz rabbi at the time also tied vertical bars in the windows so that the bars would not cross each other, i.e. no Christian symbol was created, and the re-attachment of the mezuzah to the main portal. Although this is completely unusual in a synagogue, it was a special custom of the Worms community. On December 3, 1961, the synagogue was restored to its intended use in the presence of Federal Minister Heinrich von Brentano .

present

After the end of National Socialist rule, the properties of the former Jewish community of Worms now belong to the Jewish community of Mainz , the geographically closest Jewish community that was reconstituted. From 1962 to the 1990s, the synagogue in Worms was only used sporadically for religious occasions because there was no local Jewish community. Only with the arrival of Jewish contingent refugees from the CIS countries did a significant number of people of Jewish faith move into the immediate catchment area of ​​Worms.

An arson attack was carried out on the synagogue on the night of May 17, 2010. However, the fires that were set in several places were quickly extinguished by the fire brigade .

Building description

Worms synagogue, interior view. In the foreground the men's synagogue with a Bima (lectern), Torah shrine and Ner Tamid , on the left behind the pointed arches the women's synagogue.

Male synagogue

The men's synagogue is a two-aisled, three-bay, rectangular hall that faces east and is supported by two Romanesque columns. In the middle of it is the modern bima between the columns , on the east wall the Torah shrine , which is partly part of the Renaissance , but was reworked in the baroque style in 1704/05. The main entrance to the synagogue is in the northwest corner of the room. Like the column capitals that have only survived in copies, the door jambs are in Romanesque shapes and were probably made by stonemasons from the Worms cathedral builder. The portal was recovered after 1938 and reinstalled in the reconstruction. On three sides of the men's synagogue there are tall Gothic windows that replaced the oculi of the original building during the reconstruction of 1355 .

With its two aisles, the Worms synagogue set the tone: both the Regensburg synagogue from 1227 and the Prague Old New Synagogue from the second half of the 13th century took up this form. The men's synagogue is used today for church services.

Women's synagogue

Foundation inscription of the women's synagogue

The women's synagogue, built at right angles on two thirds of the north side in 1216, is a foundation of Me'ir bar Yo'el ha-Kohen and his wife Jehudit. The extension is significantly lower than the male synagogue. The rectangular hall is supported by a central column and is considered the earliest example of a one-pillar hall. The column itself was replaced after it was destroyed in 1615. The women's synagogue was originally separated from the men's synagogue by a wall, and both rooms were only connected by viewing slits and a door. In 1842 the partition was replaced by two pointed arches, which since then have created a passage between the women's and men's synagogue. In the women's synagogue there are memorial plaques for the members of the Jewish community in Worms who were murdered in the Holocaust . There is a shallow niche on the outer wall of the women's synagogue. Juspa Schammes reports in his collection of stories Ma'asseh nissim from the 16th century that a carter tried to find the mother of Juda ben Samuel (1140 / 50–1217) when she was pregnant with him in the Hinteren Judengasse , a narrow lane on the east side of the Worms synagogue, to be run over with his wagon. She was only saved because the synagogue wall that she pressed against had moved inward. The dent in the wall can still be seen today.

Rashi yeshiva

The yeshiva , which was added to the synagogue as a western extension in 1623/24 , was initially used for teaching at the Talmud school. The extension consists of a rectangular room with a semicircular closure, inside which a stone bench surrounds. Two ridge vaults vault the room. The entrance is to the north, its portal is decorated in the Renaissance style. When teaching was given up in the 18th century, the building fell into disrepair. It was renovated in 1854/55, burned down in 1938 and blown up in 1942. It was reconstructed with the other parts of the building and is often referred to as the "Rashi Chapel".

vicinity

The synagogue garden was south of the synagogue. This is where the entrance to the mikveh is located, the community's tabernacle was and will be set up for the festival of tabernacles and this is where weddings according to the Jewish ritual took place under a canopy. A gate leads from the synagogue into the garden.

To the northwest in the corner of the men's and women's synagogue is the synagogue courtyard, formerly a meeting place for the community, onto which the main portal of the men's synagogue opens.

Monument protection

The Worms synagogue was included in the collective work Die Kunstdenkmäler in the Grand Duchy of Hesse as early as 1887 and was thus - “(i) owing to the high esteem of the Middle Ages” - one of the first Jewish sacred buildings to be listed.

The synagogue in Worms is still a listed building today . It is a cultural monument due to the Rhineland-Palatinate Monument Protection Act .

Local politicians and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate have been preparing an application from the ShUM cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2004. The sacred sands were part of this proposal. On July 27, 2021, UNESCO approved the application, since then the synagogue, along with the Holy Sand , the Jewish cemetery in Mainz and the Judenhof in Speyer, have been part of the world cultural heritage.

literature

sorted alphabetically by authors / editors

  • Otto Böcher : The old synagogue in Worms . In: The Wormsgau . Supplement 18 (1960) = dissertation at the University of Mainz .
    • First reprint in: Ernst Róth: Festschrift for the rededication of the Old Synagogue in Worms . Ner Tamid Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1961, pp. 11-154.
    • Second reprint in: Fifty years of rededication of the Old Synagogue in Worms. Expanded reprint of 1961 research with sources . Worms-Verlag, Worms 2011. ISBN 978-3-936118-60-5
  • Otto Böcher: The old synagogue in Worms on the Rhine . 9th edition. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2001. Without ISBN. (Booklet)
  • Otto Böcher: On the reconstruction of the Worms synagogue . In: Der Wormsgau 19 (2000), pp. 205-227.
  • Gerold Bönnen : "It is my purpose in life": Isidor Kiefer and his part in the reconstruction of the Worms synagogue 1957–1961 . In: Ashkenaz. Journal for History and Culture of the Jews 12 (2002), pp. 91–113.
  • Gerold Bönnen: From the reconstruction of the Worms synagogue in 1961 to the use of the synagogue district today (2011) . In: Fifty years of rededication of the Old Synagogue in Worms. Expanded reprint of 1961 research with sources . Worms-Verlag, Worms 2011. ISBN 978-3-936118-60-5 , pp. XVI-XXIII.
  • Hans Caspary: Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland = manual of German art monuments . Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 1984. ISBN 3-422-00382-7 , pp. 1177ff.
  • Carol Herselle Krinsky: Synagogues of Europe. Architecture, History, Meaning. MIT Press, Cambridge (Mass.) 1985, ISBN 0-486-29078-6 , pp. 319-323.
  • Anthony D. Kauders, Otto Böcher, Gerold Bönnen : Fifty years of rededication of the Old Synagogue in Worms. Expanded reprint of 1961 research with sources . Worms-Verlag, Worms 2011, ISBN 978-3-936118-60-5 .
  • Fritz Reuter : Warmaisa - the Jewish Worms. From the beginning to Isidor Kiefer's Jewish Museum (1924). In: History of the City of Worms. Ed. I. A. of the city of Worms by Gerold Bönnen . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1679-7
  • Ernst Róth: Festschrift for the rededication of the Old Synagogue in Worms . Ner Tamid Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1961., including:
    • Otto Böcher: The Old Synagogue in Worms , pp. 11–154 (see above).
    • Ismar Elbogen: From the beginnings of the synagogue in Worms , pp. 198–201.
    • Georg Illert: The Jewish antiquities in Worms in the years 1938–1945 , pp. 229–240.
    • Gernot Heyl: The structural problems in the reconstruction of the synagogue in Worms , pp. 241–244.
  • Samson Rothschild : The synagogue in Worms with its antiquities . Worms 1914.
  • Anne Sophie Schneider: The synagogue in Worms. The Destruction from 1938 to 1945 - An Analysis of Photographs and Archives . In: Der Wormsgau 39 (2020), pp. 157-174.
  • Irene Spille, Otto Böcher: Building history and architectural monuments . In: History of the City of Worms. Ed. I. A. of the city of Worms by Gerold Bönnen. Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1679-7
  • Irene Spille: Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany . Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate 10 = city of Worms. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1992, ISBN 978-3-88462-084-7
  • For the 900th anniversary of the synagogue in Worms. A souvenir from the board of directors of the Israelite Religious Community in Worms = special issue of the magazine for the history of Jews in Germany. Philo Verlag, Berlin 1934.

Web links

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

Remarks

  1. ↑ There is a corresponding inscription on the cover plate above the chapter of the eastern column. It is a reconstruction of the destroyed original based on recovered fragments, old photos and a drawing from 1887 (Böcher: Zum Wiederaufbau , p. 213).
  2. ↑ Caspary, p. 1179, mentions the year 1843.
  3. ↑ Information in the literature that the air raids on Worms towards the end of the Second World War caused further damage (Spille / Böcher: Baugeschichte , p. 753) or that the outer walls of the men's synagogue were up to a height of around 2.5 m , do not apply according to Schneider’s investigation.
  4. ↑ That was the first day of Hanukkah , the 25th Kislew 5722.
  5. ↑ Caspary, p. 1179, mentions the year 1843.
  6. ↑ This no longer reflects the current state of knowledge. See: Gerold Bönnen: Vom Wiederaufbau , p. XXI.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Spille: Monument topography , p. 68.
  2. ↑ Böcher: On Reconstruction , p. 207.
  3. ↑ Reuter: Warmaisa , p. 664.
  4. ↑ Caspary, p. 1178.
  5. ↑ Reuter: Warmaisa , p. 664.
  6. ↑ a b Reuter: Warmaisa , p. 669.
  7. ↑ Böcher: On Reconstruction , p. 209.
  8. ^ Alfred Haverkamp: Europe's Jews in the Middle Ages. Introduction . In: Christoph Cluse (Ed.): Europe's Jews in the Middle Ages. Contributions to the international symposium in Speyer from 20. – 25. October 2002 . Trier 2004.
  9. ↑ Simon Paulus: Worms. Old Synagogue Hintere Judengasse . In: Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, Harmen H. Thies (ed.): Synagogue architecture in Germany. Documentation for the exhibition "... and I became a small sanctuary for them ..." - Synagogues in Germany . tape 5 . Petersberg 2008.
  10. ^ Fritz Reuter: Warmaisa. 1000 years of Jews in Worms . Worms 1984.
  11. ↑ Elisheva Baumgarten: Gender in the Ashkenazi Synagogue in the High Middle Ages . In: General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (Hrsg.) :: The ShUM communities Speyer - Worms - Mainz. On the way to world heritage . Regensburg 2013, p. 63-75 .
  12. ↑ Elisheva Baumgarten: Practicing Piety in Medieval Ashkenaz: Men, Women and Everyday Observance . Philadelphia 2014.
  13. ↑ Reuter: Warmaisa , p. 671.
  14. ↑ Juspa Schammes: The destruction of the synagogue in 1615 . In: Fritz Reuter and Ulrike Schäfer: Miracle stories from Warmaisa. Juspa Schammes, his Ma'asseh nissim and the Jewish Worms in the 17th century . Warmaisa, Worms 2007. ISBN 3-00-017077-4 , pp. 21f.
  15. ↑ Spille / Böcher: Building History , p. 753 f.
  16. ↑ Reuter: Warmaisa , p. 685.
  17. ↑ Gerold Bönnen : Comments on the political, economic and social advancement and acculturation process of the Worms Jews (1816 to 1865) . In: Der Wormsgau 32 (2016), pp. 169–248 (215 and note 137).
  18. ↑ A small organ was set up in the synagogue . In: "The Israelite" . April 22, 1868.
  19. ↑ Reuter: Warmaisa , p. 689.
  20. ↑ Schneider, p. 163ff.
  21. ↑ Schneider, 161ff.
  22. ↑ Schneider, p. 165, fig. 8.
  23. ↑ Fundamental: Bönnen: "It is my purpose in life" .
  24. ↑ Böcher: On Reconstruction , p. 206.
  25. ↑ Bönnen: Vom Wiederaufbau , S. XVI.
  26. ↑ Bönnen: "It is my purpose in life" .
  27. ↑ Böcher: On Reconstruction , pp. 208f.
  28. ↑ Caspary, p. 1178.
  29. ↑ Böcher: On Reconstruction , p. 214.
  30. ↑ Böcher: On Reconstruction , p. 215.
  31. ↑ Spille / Böcher: Building History , p. 753.
  32. ↑ Bönnen: Vom Wiederaufbau , p. XXI.
  33. ↑ Sven Röbel: Common enemy . In: Der Spiegel . No. 28 , 2010, p. 26 f . ( online - July 12, 2010 ).
  34. ↑ Spille / Böcher: Building History , p. 753.
  35. ↑ Caspary, p. 1178.
  36. ^ Alfred Grotte: German, Bohemian and Polish synagogue types from the XI. until the beginning of the XIX. Century = communications from the Society for Research on Jewish Art Monuments, Volumes VII and VIII. Der Zirkel, Berlin 1915, p. 24 ff.
  37. ↑ To her see: Michael Brocke : The Jewish cemetery in Worms in the Middle Ages - 1059 to 1519. Observations in a singular place . In: General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate : The ShUM communities Speyer - Worms - Mainz. On the way to world heritage . Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg 2013. ISBN 978-3-7954-2594-4 , pp. 111-154 (134f); the donor inscriptions are published by Otto Böcher: Die Alte Synagoge zu Worms (first reprint), p. 105f (donor inscription of Me'ir bar Yo'el ha-Kohen) and p. 107f (donor inscription of Judith).
  38. ↑ Juspa Schammes: The Rabbi-Jehuda-Hechassid-Mauer . In: Fritz Reuter and Ulrike Schäfer: Miracle stories from Warmaisa. Juspa Schammes, his Ma'asseh nissim and the Jewish Worms in the 17th century . Warmaisa, Worms 2007. ISBN 3-00-017077-4 , p. 18.
  39. ↑ Caspary, p. 1178.
  40. ↑ Ernst Wörner: The art monuments in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Province of Rheinhessen. District of Worms . Bergstræsser, Darmstadt 1887, p. 258.
  41. ^ Jens Hoppe: Jewish history and culture in museums. On the non-Jewish museology of the Jewish in Germany . Waxmann, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8309-1178-5 , p. 44.
  42. ^ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - district-free city of Worms. Mainz 2021, p. 4 (PDF; 5.0 MB; address: Hintere Judengasse 4).
  43. ↑ Entry of the ShUM cities in the tentative list of UNESCO .
  44. ↑ For the history and content see: Bönnen: Vom Wiederaufbau , S. XVIff.

Coordinates: 49 ° 38 ′ 1.1 ″  N , 8 ° 21 ′ 58.8 ″  E