History of Jews in Regensburg

The first historical reference to Jews in Regensburg was found in a document of 981, which states that the monastery of St. Emmeram bought a piece of land from the Jew Samuel (Aronius, “Regesten”, No. 135). The Jewish Quarter ( Latin Judæorum habitacula ) is mentioned in documents dating from the beginning of the 11th century (1006-28), and is the oldest German ghetto, of which there is any mention in historical documents (Aronius, lc No. 150). For the first time, Jews were given liberties according to the charter of 1182. Emperor Frederick I confirmed their rights received by them from his predecessors, and assigned them, like all Jews of the empire, the status of chamber servants ( German Kammer knechtschaft ). Later, however, their political position became complicated by the fact that the emperor transferred them to the dukes of Lower Bavaria, without relieving them of their duties as chamber servants. To these rulers, Regensburg Jews were pledged in 1322 for an annual amount of £ 200 of the Ratingson Pfenning; they were also taxed by the municipal council of the city, although they received some compensation, in fact they became some protection of the city council from the excessive demands of the emperor and dukes.

During the first crusade (1096), the community suffered like many others in Germany. Old chronicles report with reference to the persecution that occurred in Franconia and Swabia in 1298: “The citizens of Ratisbon wanted to honor their city by prohibiting the persecution of Jews or their destruction without a legal sentence.” The wave of fanaticism that swept Germany in 1349 was tested in Ratisbone, similarly, by announcing magistrates and city dwellers that they would protect and safeguard their Jews. The municipal council again defended them, punishing only those responsible when a riot occurred in 1384, because some Jews were accused of falsely returning their property to a tax collector. However, the protests of the magistrates could not protect their wards from the actions of Emperor Wenzel, when in 1385-90 he replenished his treasury with contributions collected from German Jews. In subsequent years, they were also subject to heavy taxes by both the emperor and the dukes. So, in 1410, magistrates, tired of ineffective protests, took part in a plan to seize property, concluding an agreement with the duke that Jews should pay 200 florins a year to him and 60 pounds a year to the city, exorbitant taxes should be distributed between two sides. This marked a turning point in the history of the Ratisbon Jews, who have since been left to their own devices; religious intolerance and social prejudice threatened their existence.

1660-1900

In 1669, Jews were again allowed to settle in Ratisbon, but the community first synagogue appeared only on April 2, 1841. Rabbi Isaac Alexander (born in Ratisbon, August 22, 1722) was probably the first rabbi to write in German. His successor appeared to be Rabbi Weill, followed by Sonnentheil and professor Dr. Schlenker . From 1860 to 1882, Rabbenut was led by Dr. Leuvenmeier of Salzburg , who was replaced in January 1882 by Dr. Zeligmann Mayer, editor of the German newspaper Deutsche Israelitische Zeitung . As of 1905, 45,426 people lived in Ratisbon, of which 600 were Jews.

1901-1945

1946 - Present

Today, the Jewish community numbers 1,000 people, most of whom come from the former USSR. ^[2]

The first cemetery of the Jewish community of Ratisbon was located on a hill, which is still called "Judenau". In 2010, the congregation bought from the monastery of St. Emmerama a piece of land outside the territory of present Peterthor for the arrangement of a new cemetery, which was destroyed during excavations conducted in the city in 1877. The cemetery was opened for the burial of all Jews in Upper and Lower Bavaria and, in connection with the catastrophe on February 21, 1519, more than 4,000 gravestones were either destroyed or used to build churches. The ruined synagogue was built in the old Romanesque style from 1210 to 1227 on the site of a former Jewish hospital, in the center of the ghetto, where the Neue Pfarre church stands today. The ghetto was separated from the city itself by a wall with lockable gates.

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  Jewish cemetery on Schillerstrasse

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  Synagogue building destroyed before World War II

• Petahia from Regensburg (born in Prague, he flourished in 1175 and 1190), traveler ^[3]
• Abraham bin Moses of Regensburg (beginning of the 12th century), Tosafist ^[4]
• Wolfcan Ratisbon (second half of the XV century), a Jew who converted to Christianity and slandered the Jews ^[5]
• Isaac Alexander (second half of the 18th century) ^[6]