Jewish quarter

A Jewish quarter and a Jewish population are attested until their expulsion in the 14th century.

Görlitz was a main trading center of the entire Upper Lusatia in the late Middle Ages and probably already at the beginning of the 13th century settlement place for Jewish families. A "Judengasse" in the vicinity of the Nikolaiturm was first mentioned in documents at the beginning of the 14th century; there is also said to have been a "Judenbadestube" (mikveh) and a "Judenkirchhof" (Jewish churchyard) - located in front of the city wall on the Neisse River. Under King John of Bohemia, the Jews living here obtained protection in 1329; since 1344 there is documentary evidence of a "Judenschule" (prayer room) in Görlitz. As in many German cities, the Jews living in Görlitz were expelled from the city at the time of the plague, but they returned years later. In 1389, the ruling duke granted the Goerlitz council the privilege of keeping the city "free of Jews"; this was connected with their renewed expulsion and economic plundering; the Jewish property - synagogue and cemetery - was confiscated and became the property of the city. In 1390 the synagogue was demolished. In 1395 there were demonstrably no more Jews in Upper Lusatia.