The ShUM cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz were named Germany’s first Jewish World Heritage Site in 2021. In the Middle Ages, the three cities on the Rhine became the European center of Jewish education in Germany. Many prayers, customs and commentaries on the Holy Scriptures that are taught to this day can be traced back to the cultural centers of the ShUM Federation. Federal President Steinmeier will visit the cities on February 1, 2021 and ceremonially present the World Heritage certificate.
Destroyed four times, rebuilt four times: the Worms synagogue is a central location for the Jewish communities in the ShUM cities. Their architecture and the teachings of their Talmud school shaped the image of Jewish communities in Europe as far away as Prague, Kraków and Vienna.
IMAGO
Werner Otto
The award goes hand in hand with the obligation to better market and open up the culture for tourism, says Felix Tauber, Managing Director of the ShUM Cities Association. In the future, there should be guided tours to the graves of Jewish scholars at the Mainz cemetery. In addition to the structural remains of the synagogue and the women’s school, Speyer also has the oldest mikveh in Europe. In Worms, in addition to the cemetery, the “Holy Sand” with the synagogue, the mikveh and the Rashi House is a whole well-preserved Jewish complex.
According to Tauber, tourist interest was noticeable despite the pandemic. After the recognition, the number of tourists was at the level of the years before the pandemic or even exceeded them noticeably in some cases. In addition to those interested in culture and Jewish visitors, they also want to specifically address children and point out the Jewish heritage. “The title gives us the opportunity to make this legacy better known worldwide,” says Tauber. You are only willing to protect what you know.
