Synagogenplatz
55218 Ingelheim am Rhein
Germany
Already in the 18th century there was probably a prayer room which was possibly established in the house Stiegelgasse 25, which later became antechamber to the synagogue newly built in 1841. For years the Jewish community collected the funds for a new synagogue building, which was approved by the authorities in April 1840 and built in the following months. The synagogue was built in Moorish style ("beautifully copied oriental style") and was solemnly consecrated on August 27, 1841 by District Rabbi Dr. Sobernheim from Bingen . Even before the dedication, on July 30, 1841 the community leaders Leopold, Gerhard and Joseph Oppenheimer signed new synagogue regulations. The payment of the debts was partly regulated by leasing the synagogue chairs. As late as 1855, the leasing of vacated chairs in the synagogue was a matter of those who had contributed money to the construction of the synagogue in 1840 being entitled to one of the chairs. 35 people had donated a total of 3896.30 guilders at that time. However, since ten people of the religious community had died or moved to other places between 1840/41 and 1855, ten chairs acquired through donations for the construction of the synagogue also became vacant by 1855.
The last major celebration in the synagogue took place 1932 on the occasion of the centenary of the Jewish Women's Association. The Ingelheim newspaper reported: "The Jewish Women's Association celebrated its centenary. A festive service was held in the festively decorated synagogue, with teacher Langstädter giving the sermon. The 1st chairman of the congregation, Ferdinand Oppenheimer, was able to welcome mayor Dr. Rückert in addition to numerous guests of honor. The women's association donated a curtain for the holy ark of the covenant."
On the morning of November 10, 1938 the synagogue was demolished, possibly also set on fire. In April 1939 the ruin was sold and later converted into a residential building. In the immediate vicinity of the site of the synagogue (Synagogenplatz) 1992 the German-Israeli Circle of Friends erected a memorial as a memorial with a rough concrete stele created by students of the Sebastian Münster High School. The dates of the brass plaques commemorate the suffering and fate of the Ingelheim Jews* who were murdered in the Holocaust.
