The Jewish courtyard in Speyer (also known as the Speyer Jewry-Court), is an historic and
archeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
located in the inner city of
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
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 of
Worms
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
and
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
, 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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
in 2021.
Description
The Jewish courtyard consists of the remains of the
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, its courtyard, and the women's
shul
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as Jewi ...
(prayer room), an intact
Mikvah
A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or ( Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.
In Orthodox Judaism, these regulations are steadfastly adhered t ...
for ritual washing, and a
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; 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 studied in parallel. The stu ...
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 that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
and is the oldest example of the window arrangement that would become commonplace in
Ashkenazi Jewish
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...
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 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.
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,
Rüdiger Huzmann, 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 (; 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 List of kings of Burgundy, Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was t ...
in 1090, beginning a "golden age" of Judaism in Speyer.
The oldest building in the Jewish courtyard is a 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 Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
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 as an armory by Speyer until the city was destroyed in 1689 during the
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
.
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
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{{Authority control
Jews and Judaism in Speyer
Historic Jewish communities in Europe
Buildings and structures in Speyer
World Heritage Sites in Germany
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...