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The Jewish courtyard in Speyer (also known as the Speyer Jewry-Court), is an historic and archeological site located in the inner city of
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
,
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 ...
. Built in stages between 1104 (when the synagogue was consecrated) and the 14th century, the courtyard contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Jewish community buildings. Along with the other
ShUM-cities The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
of
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...
and
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
, Speyer was the hometown of one of the most important Jewish communities in Middle Ages in northern Europe. Because of its historical importance and its testimony to the European Jewish cultural tradition, the Jewish courtyard was inscribed on the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
in 2021.


Description

The Jewish courtyard consists of the remains of the
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 ...
, its courtyard, and the women's
shul 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 ...
(prayer room), an intact
Mikvah Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purifi ...
for ritual washing, and a
yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...
for teaching and studying. The synagogue, courtyard, and mikvah were constructed in the early 12th century using sandstone, and the women's shul and yeshiva were built out of brick in the 13th and 14th centuries. The synagogue was built in the
Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...
and is the oldest example of the window arrangement that would become commonplace in
Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
architecture, with arched windows surrounding a central round window. When it was remodeled, it retained most of its Romanesque features. The women's shul, attached to the south side of the synagogue, was built in high
Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
with a ribbed vault ceiling. The north and east walls of the yeshiva are the only above-ground aspect that still exist today. However, it is clear that the yeshiva was built in a similar style to the women's shul. Located to the east of the synagogue, the mikvah was built in the Romanesque style and contains elaborate sculpting and masonry. In particular, the anteroom overlooking the ritual bath contains intricate stonework, with a four-part window wall and ornate
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
. The same stonemasons who built the synagogue and mikvah also likely worked on the Christian churches and cathedrals in Speyer.


History

In the late 11th century, Jews fleeing persecution in the town of Mainz began to take refuge in Speyer. In 1084, the
Bishop of Speyer The Bishop of Speyer is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer, which is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Bamberg.Rüdiger Huzmann Rüdiger Huzmann (died 22 February 1090) was a German religious leader who served as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer from 1075 to his death. He was born into an old Speyer family with Salian dynasty, Salian connections and before became a c ...
, issued a letter of protection for the fledgling Jewish community, intending to grow the economy of Speyer. This protection was later expanded by
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son ...
in 1090, beginning a "golden age" of Judaism in Speyer. The oldest building in the Jewish courtyard is synagogue, which was consecrated on 21 September 1104. The first documented mention of the Mikvah was in 1126, making it the earliest documented mikvah in Europe, and its subterranean components have been nearly unmodified for centuries. In 1196, the synagogue was burnt in a
pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
and was subsequently reconstructed. In the mid 13th century, the synagogue was renovated in Gothic style and the women's synagogue was built next to it. Finally, the mid-14th century, the yeshiva was constructed. The Jewish community in Speyer existed until the beginning of the 16th century. The exact time and circumstances of the destruction are unknown. The synagogue was used for an armory by Speyer until the city was destroyed in 1689 during the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
. Afterwards, the buildings in the Jewish courtyard were leased out for building huts, and then was divided into residential allotments before 1999 when the city of Speyer bought the area and removed the non-medieval buildings. Image:Mikvah Speyer 5.jpg, View downstairs Image:Arch-mikvah-speyer.jpg, Arch Image:Speyer Juden gasse.jpg, Juden street in Speyer Image:Speyer Judenhof.jpg, The Jewish street in Speyer


References


External links

* Speyer Historic Jewish communities in Europe Buildings and structures in Rhineland-Palatinate World Heritage Sites in Germany {{RhinelandPalatinate-struct-stub