Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, Germany

The three buildings which are included in this site illustrate the life of the local Jewish community and its coexistence with a Christian majority in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, between the end of the 11^th and the mid-14^th century.

The building is a rectangular two-storey structure with an asymmetrical gable roof. It is located in a courtyard where it is not directly visible from the street, as was typical at that time for Jewish religious buildings built in neighbourhoods hosting both Jews and Christians. 

Four different phases of construction have been identified: the building originated in around 1100, it was reconstructed in the late 12^th century, the third and main phase took place around 1270, and the building was expanded in around 1300.

The building shows evidence of modifications that were made during the mid-14^th century as a consequence of the damage that was suffered during the pogrom of 1349, when most of the town’s Jewish community was massacred.

Following the pogrom, the building was converted into a storehouse: a vaulted cellar was created, two wooden ceilings were added, and two large doorways were opened up to allow access for carts. The building was used as a storehouse for the next 500 years. 

Today, the Old Synagogue houses an extraordinary museum. Inaugurated in 2009, it is a place where the medieval testimonies of Erfurt‘s Jewish community, including Hebrew manuscripts and the so-called Erfurt Treasure, are accessible to the public. 

The 13^th-century Mikveh, a structure purposely designed for ritual bathing, is located on the banks of the River Gera, probably in order to facilitate access to groundwater, as required by Jewish religious tradition.

The Mikveh was built on a rectangular plan, nine metres long and three metres wide, with high-quality stone walls, exhibiting different stone types: large sandstone ashlar blocks for the basin area and regular courses of limestone for the lowest and uppermost part of the walls.

The Mikveh in Erfurt is one of just a few well-preserved examples of medieval monumental mikvehs in Europe, and its existence is further testimony to the town’s prosperous Jewish community in the Middle Ages.

The Stone House is a medieval stone structure that today forms part of a complex of buildings located near the Town Hall in the centre of Erfurt. Built in around 1200 as a residential and commercial property, it was known as a kemenate in reference to the fact it was heated. 

The wood-beamed ceiling is comprised of panels which are all decorated with the same flower motif, as well as beams that each feature different plant designs.