The LVR-Cultural Centre Village Synagogue Rödingen (German: LVR-Kulturhaus Landsynagoge Rödingen) is located in Rödingen, municipality of

Titz Titz is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately north-east of Jülich and south of Mönchengladbach. Since the local government reform of 1975, Titz Municipality co ...

, district of

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...

, State of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, Germany. It is a permanent exhibition in a former

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

and a former family house of the head (''Vorsteher'') of the local Jewish community. It is dedicated to Jewish Life in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

of past and present. Today the Rödingen synagogue is the only Jewish house of worship in the western Rhineland still largely in its original condition. RödingenVorsteherHs

In 1999 the ''Landschaftsverband Rheinland'' (LVR), a assembly of municipalities, bought the entire property with the intention of opening the buildings to the public. The

Cultural Centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Cen ...

was opened in September 2009, the European Day of Jewish Culture.

The former synagogue

* In the synagogue is still the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

niche, located on the eastern wall of the synagogue opposite the entrance. The original

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

(Hebrew: Aron Kodesh) with the ornate curtain, the

parochet A ''parochet'' (Hebrew: פרוכת; Ashkenazi pronunciation: ''paroches'') meaning "curtain" or "screen",Sonne Isaiah (1962) 'Synagogue' in The Interpreter's dictionary of the Bible vol 4, New York: Abingdon Press pp 476-491 is the curtain that c ...

can be seen in a photo. Over the niche is still a long iron nail for the hanging of the

Ner Tamid Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies. A sanctuary lamp, chancel lamp, altar lamp, everlasting light, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish and Christian places of worship. Prescribed in Exodus 27:20-2 ...

* The women’s gallery also exists. The gallery is fronted with plain wood panels and supported on two slender wooden pillars. * There are traces of the original decor.

Permanent exhibition

The exhibition is situated in the nine rooms of the family house. * On the ground floor is a Media Room with a small library, the Family Room presents the stories of five generations of the ''Ullmann'' Family, who lived in this house from 1789 till 1934. In the

Kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

kitchen are a number of exhibits. * On the upper floor is the House and Synagogue History Room, the Village Sites Room with the theme

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...

, ''Judengasse'' (Jews‘ Alley) and

jewish school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiate s ...

. In The Rhineland Judaism Room is the Menorah from the former Synagogue in

Vettweiß Vettweiß (alternative spelling: ''Vettweiss'') is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is ...

. In The Religion Room is a Torah

Wimpel A wimpel ( yi, ווימפל, from German, "cloth," derived from Old German, ''bewimfen,'' meaning "to cover up" or "conceal") is a long, linen sash used as a binding for the Sefer Torah by Jews of Germanic (Yekke) origin. It is made from t ...

(Hebrew: mappah) from 1762 and a

Sefer Torah A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...

fragment with the pointer (Hebrew: Jad).

Activities

The Museum regularly hosts monthly lectures, workshops, seminars and concerts on Jewish religion and culture. It celebrates the yearly events International Museum Day, European Day of Jewish Culture and

Tag des offenen Denkmals The Tag des offenen Denkmals (Day of Open Monuments) is an annual event all over Germany. The day of action has been coordinated by the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz since 1993. Historic monuments are open to the public free of charge. It takes ...

( European Heritage Days).

Literature

* Alexander Schmalz: ''LVR-Cultural Centre Village Synagogue Rödingen. Discover Jewish life in the Rheinland!'', Medien und Dialog Schubert, Haigerloch 2012, (in English)

External links

Official website
(in German)
LVR-Cultural Centre Village Synagogue Rödingen. Jewish life in the Rhineland
(in English) {{Coord, 50.9655, N, 6.4612, E, source:wikidata, display=title Jewish museums in Germany Former synagogues in Germany Synagogues in North Rhine-Westphalia Museums in North Rhine-Westphalia 2009 establishments in Germany Museums established in 2009 Jewish German history Buildings and structures in Düren (district)