Synagogue (Barchfeld)

In the 18th century a first synagogue was built, about which nothing else is known. It had become too small around 1840, so a new one was built in 1844/45, which was consecrated on September 19, 1845. In 1879 a part of the building was destroyed by fire. However, it was not necessary to renew the whole building and the synagogue was consecrated again on August 20, 1880. In the meantime, people prayed in a rented room. In 1904 and 1907 the synagogue was modernized, in the latter year electric lighting was introduced. In 1922 the community renewed the synagogue roof. During the November pogrom in 1938, members of the SA and SS destroyed the synagogue's interior and burned it on the castle lawns; the building was demolished. The synagogue property remained undeveloped after 1945. On November 27, 1988, a memorial commemorating the former Jewish community was inaugurated in the presence of Raphael Scharf-Katz, then chairman of the Jewish Regional Community. In the fall of 1996, the memorial stones had to be moved to the Jewish cemetery, as the owner of the property announced his own needs.