Fashion and Textile House Katzenstein

In 1907 David Katzenstein rented the commercial building on Hauptstraße 137/139 from the company Pongs and Zahn. In the same year, the Katzenstein fashion and textile store opened. The opening had previously been publicized by a large newspaper campaign. In 1919, Katzenstein acquired the building.

During the November pogroms in 1938, the store was vandalized. The furniture and merchandise were destroyed. All this happened even though Katzenstein had already signed a lease for the store with Fritz Jost, a non-Jewish man from Trier, in May 1938. Jost had bought the company's entire stock of goods and was granted a right of first refusal on the house.

A little later, Katzenstein emigrated to Israel with his wife Sophie. He appointed August Peters, a bank director, as the administrator of his property in Germany. The latter was commissioned to sell the house to Fritz Jost a short time later. The contract of sale was concluded in 1941, but was rejected by the Reich Commissioner. The German Reich became the owner of the house. Jost could acquire it only in 1942 for 60 000 RM.

Katzenstein died in Israel in 1948, his wife returned to Germany in 1950. Fritz Jost had died during a bombing raid in early 1945. His wife Anny and son Franz were his heirs. Sophie Katzenstein settled with Anny Jost out of court and the house returned to the family's ownership as early as 1948. She concluded a lease agreement with Anny Jost for her textile business. This existed until January 1970, after which the Seidel toy company moved into the building, followed by a Schlecker branch. Today, the premises of the Sparda Bank are located here.

The grandson of David Katzenstein, Gerd Voremberg, sold the house in 2016. The lettering "Haus Katzenstein" was included in the renovation of the facade and is preserved to this day.