Synagoge Memmelsdorf (Ufr.)
Memmelsdorf illustrates the history and development of Franconian rural Jewish life centred on the Hassberg region from the mid 17th century to the end of the 19th century. To this day, more or less well-preserved traces of Jewish communities, settlements or cemeteries can be found at 29 locations in the district. In Memmelsdorf, the synagogue built in 1728/29 – the oldest remaining synagogue in lower Franconia –, the cemetery established in 1835 and the remains of a ritual bath (privately owned and not accessible) have survived.
Synagoge Gleusdorf
The political community of Untermerzbach, Bavaria, Lower Franconia; bought the former synagogue of Gleusdorf in 2019. (The last Jewish person left Gleusdorf in the year 1909.) The Träger- und Förderverein Synagoge Memmelsdorf (Ufr.) e.V. (www.synagoge-memmelsdorf.de) is responsible for Information and guidance of visitors.
The restoration of the building was performed in the same way as in the Synagogue of Memmelsdorf:
The concept for the renovation – "conservation instead of reconstruction" – was developed during a colloquium in 1999. Based on this, other than for structural damaged caused by the weather, the measures taken in the main room of the synagogue, were essentially conservational.
Jews needed the Schutzbrief (“letter of protection”) from a landlord in order to be allowed to settle on his territory. In Gleusdorf, the presence of “protected Jews” can be attested after the Thirty Years’ War. Of 29 households, six were Jewish in 1660 – in 1851 the membership of the Jewish community reached its highest level with 52 persons. Until the 19th century, all Jewish houses were located on a small area near the Itz. The community had its own synagogue, but no cemetery. The Jews of Gleusdorf used the Jewish cemetery in Ebern.
If you want to visit the synagogue in Gleusdorf, please write to: Träger- und Förderverein Synagoge Memmelsdorf (Ufr.). Kontakt