Former mikveh house Halberstadt (1766) with Berend-Lehmann-Museum (2001)

The former Mikwenhaus in the Judenstraße 26, already built in the 16th century as a half-timbered building, was acquired in 1766 by the Jewish community of Halberstadt. In the basement, the community mikveh with its own spring was established. Until 1879, the baroque community synagogue between Judenstraße and Bakenstraße was accessible via the courtyard gate. After a first renovation of the mikvah in 1855/56, the cellar and first floor were rebuilt in 1891/92 into a representative bathhouse with cross-ribbed vaults, heating, hot water (also to feed the mikvah), bathtubs and toilets. In 1908/09 an electric water pump was added to empty the basin. The historical wall inscriptions (naming the donors) testify to this.

When under National Socialist rule attendance at the municipal baths was banned, the Mikwenhaus took over this function - until the complete deportation of the last Jewish Halberstädter*innen in 1942.

After 1945, the architectural heritage of the Jewish community was also largely lost. In 1955, the facilities in the Mikwenhaus were "deconstructed": the cross-ribbed vault between the cellar and the first floor was broken out, a false ceiling was inserted, and an apartment was installed. The rubble was used to fill in the old mikveh, including the spring.

Both were only rediscovered during restoration work in 2000/01 under a thin layer of screed, exposed and returned to their original function. Since then, the former community mikveh - as in 1766 - is again fed by "living water".

The entire Mikwenhaus was included in 2001 in the building ensemble of the newly founded "Berend Lehmann Museum for Jewish History and Culture" (Judenstraße 25-26). The exhibition tells - exemplary for the German Jewry before 1945 - the history of the majority neo-orthodox Halberstadt community. Innumerable objects and memorabilia of former Halberstadters invite to discover, reflect and ask questions.