Mikvah (Ritual Bath)

The supposed Jüdische bath at the Nikolaiturm, one of the old city gates of the Gürlitzer old town, is located in the approx. 5.20m deep cellar vault of the Nikolaistra;e 5/6. At the beginning of the 1980s, one found the verschüttete drainage system of sandstone and bricks, the Gürlitzer monument conservation restored it subsequently;end. The basin, which is embedded in the floor of the cellar, is fed mainly by water from the Petersquelle spring. Thus, a constant supply of fresh water is guaranteed.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the town of Schwedt was one of the Brandenburg towns with a relatively high proportion of Jewish citizens. In the second half of the 19th  century, the community numbered about 200 members. The time of the National Socialist dictatorship led to the expulsion or extermination of all Schwedt Jews. Today, the Jewish cemetery and the preserved ritual bath still remind us of the time when Schwedt still had Jewish citizens. A museum takes care of the sites today. The museum is open seasonally from May to September.

The moat of the medieval city walls, in the course of which the street extends, was here überwwbt and a corresponding facility was established.

In the basement of the Nordstra;e 25 (previously: Judengasse 31, also: House „Der schwarze Bär“) was the Mikwe fünner. The moat of the medieval city defenses, in the course of which the street extends, was here überwwbt and a corresponding facility was established.

The Jewish Community House housed in the annex the mikvah (ritual bath). 

The former Mikwenhaus in the Judenstraße 26, already built in the 16th century as a half-timbered building, was acquired in 1766 by the Jewish community of Halberstadt. In the basement, the community mikveh with its own spring was established. Until 1879, the baroque community synagogue between Judenstraße and Bakenstraße was accessible via the courtyard gate. After a first renovation of the mikvah in 1855/56, the cellar and first floor were rebuilt in 1891/92 into a representative bathhouse with cross-ribbed vaults, heating, hot water (also to feed the mikvah), bathtubs and toilets.

The former cantor's house in Bakenstraße 56 dates from the end of the 18th century. Directly behind it stood the baroque synagogue of the Jewish community donated by the Halberstadt court factor Berend Lehmann since 1712. The entrance was initially on the east side (from Judenstraße), but was moved to the west in 1879 during renovation and the addition of a new reception hall. From then on, the gateway of the cantor's house on Bakenstraße served as the new main entrance.