Old Synagogue (Erfurt)

The medieval Jewish residential area was located in the area from Ackerhof to Benediktsplatz until the persecution and destruction of the community in the plague period. Here was the synagogue of the Jewish community. The building, which has been preserved until today, is the oldest synagogue in Central Europe preserved up to the roof. During intensive research in recent years, four construction phases of a total of three synagogues could be identified. The visible western facade with the tracery rosette and the pointed arched windows can be dated to the year 1270. However, the oldest established wall in the alignment of the west facade (first construction phase) dates back to around 1100. This Romanesque synagogue building probably had a square ground plan. The Romanesque synagogue of a second construction phase is likewise only verifiable by a wall fragment and a twin window. This second synagogue burned down during a pogrom in 1221 or 1266 or in the town fire of 1222. A new building was constructed around 1270 (third phase of construction); this third synagogue had a transverse rectangular floor plan (floor plan measuring about 16 m x 9 m; height about 10 m). An annex on the northern side was built at the beginning of the 14th century (fourth building phase). During the plague pogrom in 1349, the synagogue was profaned and misused as a warehouse. However, the building was preserved over the centuries.