The original Regensburg Synagogue, erected between 1210 and 1227, was an edifice in Old Romanesque style in Regensburg (also known as Ratisbon), southern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, on the site of the former Jewish hospital, in the center of the

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

, where the present Neue Pfarre stands. Two etchings made by

Albrecht Altdorfer Albrecht Altdorfer (12 February 1538) was a German painter, engraver and architect of the Renaissance working in Regensburg, Bavaria. Along with Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is regarded to be the main representative of the Danube S ...

of the synagogue shortly before it was destroyed on February 22, 1519, provide the first portrait of an actual architectural monument in European printmaking. In 1519 following the death of Emperor

Maximilian Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459� ...

, who had long been a protector of the Jews in the

imperial cities In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

, extracting from them substantial taxes in exchange, the city of Regensburg, which blamed its economic troubles on its prosperous Jewish community, expelled the 500 Jews. The Jews themselves had demolished the interior of their venerable synagogue, on the site of which a chapel was built in honor of the Virgin. According to a chronicle the exiles settled, under the protection of the

Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

, on the opposite bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

, in Stadt-am-Hof, and in villages in the vicinity; from these they were expelled in the course of the same century. In 1669 Jews were again permitted to reside in Regensburg but it was not until April 2, 1841, that the community was able to dedicate its new synagogue. In 1907 however, it was demolished for fear of collapse. Rebuilt in 1912 at a different place, when the town had a Jewish population of about 600, it was destroyed by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

on November 9, 1938, during

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

Gallery

Image:Regensburg Synagogue, 1519.jpg, The entrance hall of the Regensburg Synagogue,

, 1519 Image:Regensburg2.jpg, The double-naved interior with bimah between columns, 1519 Image:SynagogendenkmalRegensburg.JPG, Memorial created by

Dani Karavan Daniel "Dani" Karavan ( he, דני קרוון, 7 December 1930 – 29 May 2021) was an Israeli sculptor best known for site specific memorials and monuments which merge into the environment. Biography Daniel (Dani) Karavan was born in Tel A ...

in 2005 that depicts the foundation of the synagogue. Image:Synagogue regensburg bavaria deu november 2018.jpg, Synagogue in Regensburg under construction, November 2018

References

Sources

The Jewish Encyclopedia: Ratisbon
{{JewishEncyclopedia, article=Ratisbon Jewish German history 13th-century synagogues Synagogues completed in 1916 1938 disestablishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Regensburg Synagogues destroyed during Kristallnacht (Germany) Medieval synagogues Religious buildings and structures in Bavaria Regensburg