Synagogue Mariusstraße (Gunzenhausen)

No information is available about the history of the prayer rooms and synagogues from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. A new synagogue was built in 1882/83 by the Fürth master builder Evora. The building with its two double towers quickly became one of Gunzenhausen's landmarks. The dedication of the synagogue was on October 19, 1883 by District Rabbi Aron Bär Grünbaum from Ansbach. The sermon concluded with the words: "Even this house, which as a magnificent monument is an ornament to the local town and an honor to our community, will only rise with its domes when the teaching: One God and one humanity has become flesh and blood among all visitors, when the main commandment: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, or as others give the words the interpretation: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, for every one is like thee, every one is a creature of God, is recognized as the fundamental doctrine of our religion by all, and when this fundamental doctrine forms the guidepost for all life."      
  
Only half a century, the new synagogue in Gunzenhausen was an "ornament of the city". National Socialists in Gunzenhausen, which was repeatedly described as a "stronghold of anti-Semitism", soon directed violent actions against the synagogue. In 1928, windows of the synagogue were broken.    
  
On November 8, 1938, one day before the November pogrom 1938, the synagogue was bought by the city of Gunzenhausen for 8,000 RM from the Israelite religious community. On November 10, 1938, it was to be burned down by the SA, like so many synagogues in Germany. But the head of the Gunzenhausen fire department refused the order on the grounds that the fire could spread to the nearby neighboring houses. Thus, a week later, they were content with "felling" the domes. All of Gunzenhausen was to be a witness to this. On November 17 at noon, many citizens - invited by an advertisement in the Altmühl-Boten on November 15 - attended the spectacle. Mayor Appler spoke to those present. He pointed out the importance of the event for the city and the memorability of the hour. 
 
From 1942 to 1945, French prisoners of war were housed in the synagogue building. From 1947 to 1949 the building was used as a store hall, and from 1953 to 1980 as a factory hall. The former Jewish school was used as a residential building until 1969 and as an office building from 1969 to 1980.
  
From today's point of view completely incomprehensible, the former synagogue was demolished in 1981; the site was redeveloped. Today, a plaque at the former site of the synagogue recalls the history of this building.