Jewish Museum Worms
There was a Jewish Community in Worms for an uninterrupted period lasting more than 900 years. Many architectural reminders have survived and bear witness today to the former importance of ? Jewish Worms.
Insights into Jewish history since the Middle Ages, into Jewish traditions and religious life, and also reminders of the events during the tyranny of Nazi rule from 1933 on – all this awaits you in the Jewish Museum Worms.
The Jewish Museum, built and maintained by the City of Worms, can be found in the Rashi House, Hintere Judengasse 6. It occupies rooms on the ground floor and in the cellar, and the upper floors of the building house the Worms City Archives with its collection of photographs, and the city’s historic monuments authority.
The permanent collection
The exhibits in the permanent collection have now all been catalogued and they consist of items rescued from the pre-war collection, photographs and documents from the City Archives, and donations made by Jews who came from Worms. As a result, almost all of them have a connection to the city.
As well as a model of the old synagogue in Worms (a building dating from around 1600), there are medieval records, plans and documents on display.?
Ritual and everyday objects offer insights into religious rituals and the most important Jewish festivals during the year.
Tribute is also paid, of course, to Rashi, the most important scholar at the Jewish school (yeshiva) in Worms (around 1060), after whom the museum building is named.
Reports from the lives of individuals and documents give information on the violent end to a centuries-old community and tradition that was brought about by the deportation of the last Jews in Worms during the tyranny of Nazi rule.?
Our media station rounds off this part of the permanent collection with some very moving interviews with Holocaust survivors, film footage on Jewish Worms (in various languages) and other digital material.
As well as the impressive permanent collection, there are also special exhibitions, which are well worth a visit.?
At a glance ...
Please visit our website?
Postal address:
Jewish Museum Worms
Hintere Judengasse 6
67547 Worms?
Germany
Contact:
Telephone: +49 (0)62 41 8 53 - 47 01 / 47 07?
[email protected]
Opening hours:
- November to March Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 12:30 and 13:30 - 16:30
- April to October Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 12:30 and 13:30 - 17:00
- Monday closed
Admission charges:?
- Under 18s EUR 0.80?
- Adults EUR 1.50?
- Groups (under 18s) of 10 or more EUR 0.50 per person?
- Groups (adults) of 10 or more EUR 1 per person
Groups?
are requested to book their visit in advance by telephoning +49 (0) 62 41 8 53 – 47 01 or by email: [email protected]??
Guided tour
There is a guided tour “Jewish Worms” for the general public (including a visit to the museum) every first Sunday in the month between April and October at 10:30 (German only):?
Did you know?
- For an uninterrupted period of more than 900 years ?(from around the year 1000 until 1942, during the period of Nazi rule), the Jewish community in Worms enriched the cultural life and society of the city. Together with Speyer and Mainz, Worms was from medieval times on one of the most important Jewish settlements in what was then central Europe.
- The Jewish school?( yeshiva )? was very famous in medieval times?and attracted scholars and students from throughout Europe.?The most important of these scholars? was?Rashi?from Troyes, in France (around 1060). Rashi is held in high esteem in Jewish circles still today. He was a rabbi, a scholar and the writer of a commentary on the Talmud. The Rashi House in Worms is named after him.
- The probable site of the school is where the Rashi House stands today.?Parts of the ground floor and the cellar vaults? date back to medieval times, and our museum is housed here in the Rashi House. The upper floors contain the City Archives, the city’s archive of photographs, and its historic monuments authority.
- Just a few steps away from the museum is the?synagogue with it medieval mikvah (ritual bath). Also worth seeing are the surrounding narrow streets of the old city centre, the city wall with the Rashi Gate, and the Judengasse (Jews’ Alley) with its almost unchanged architectural structure.?
- There is probably no other city in Europe ?with ?so many important architectural reminders?of its Jewish history and tradition going back 10 centuries as Warmaisa?–?The Jewish Worms. One very special jewel is “Holy Sands” (“Heiliger Sand”) – the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in Europe.?
- The three cities of Speyer, Mainz und Worms have adopted the motto ShUM Cities on the Rhine – A Jewish Heritage for the World, and together with their Jewish communities and the State of Rhineland-Palatinate are seeking recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
