Kulturhaus - Former Synagogue

Kulturhaus - Former Synagogue

The old synagogue of the Jewish community, dating back to the 14th century, was located at the village green, today’s Marktplatz, right next to the bishop’s castle. During the persecution at the Time of the Plague (1349) the community was completely exterminated. It is not known when the Jews returned to Deidesheim. We also do not know if they had a new synagogue and where it was located. A document from 1817 states that the community, comprising of 48 people, had a synagogue located on the second floor of a back building of the Feis family estate. It is probable that the synagogue was erected as a replacement for an older building after the destruction of the town on 26th September 1689. In the mid-19th century, however, it was in such a bad condition that the community was forced to build another synagogue. So the community members decided to acquire a garden in the moat, today’s Bahnhofstraße, and an adjacent property. The plastered building was finished in 1851/1852; the Deidesheim synagogue is a square, hip-roofed building with 2 x 3 meter, round-arched windows on a base of big sandstone ashlars. The inner hall’s multi-profiled cornice is based on plain, stuccoed pilaster strips. Because of its bad condition, the building had to be renovated in 1905. It was very difficult for the community to finance this project. In 1926 it was impossible for the community to fund the necessary exterior and interior renovations since there were only 12 members left. That is why the building was sold in 1935. Because the new owner used the old synagogue as a garage, it was spared destruction on Pogrom Night on 10th November 1938. Today, the building is property of the Town of Deidesheim, which is also responsible for its renovation, and it is used as a center for cultural events.