Worms Synagogue

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title: "Worms Synagogue" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1030s-establishments-in-the-holy-roman-empire", "11th-century-synagogues", "21st-century-attacks-on-jewish-institutions", "buildings-and-structures-in-worms,-germany", "gothic-architecture-in-germany", "jews-and-judaism-in-worms,-germany", "rebuilt-synagogues", "buildings-and-structures-completed-in-1034", "religious-buildings-and-structures-completed-in-the-1030s", "religious-buildings-and-structures-in-rhineland-palatinate", "romanesque-and-gothic-synagogues", "romanesque-architecture-in-germany", "synagogues-in-germany", "world-heritage-sites-in-germany"] description: "Historical synagogue in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_Synagogue" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Historical synagogue in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox religious building"]

Field	Value
name	Worms Synagogue
native_name
image	Blick von der Gartenseite der Synagoge Worms.jpg
caption	Rear view of the Worms Synagogue, 2005
religious_affiliation	Judaism
festival
organisational_status	Synagogue
functional_status	Active
location	Hintere Judengasse 6, Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate
country	Germany
map_type	Germany Rhineland-Palatinate
map_size	250
map_relief	1
map_caption	Location of the synagogue in Rhineland-Palatinate
coordinates
architecture_type	Synagogue architecture
architecture_style
year_completed
date_demolished
materials	Stone; slate
elevation_m
website
module	{{infobox historic site
designation1	WHS
designation1_type	Cultural
designation1_criteria	ii, iii, vi
designation1_date	2021
designation1_partof	ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz
designation1_number	1636
footnotes
::

| name = Worms Synagogue | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Blick von der Gartenseite der Synagoge Worms.jpg | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Rear view of the Worms Synagogue, 2005 | religious_affiliation = Judaism | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival = | organisational_status = Synagogue | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = Hintere Judengasse 6, Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = Germany | map_type = Germany Rhineland-Palatinate | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the synagogue in Rhineland-Palatinate | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = Synagogue architecture | architecture_style = | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = | construction_cost = | date_demolished = | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = Stone; slate | elevation_m = | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = | module = {{infobox historic site | embed = yes | designation1 = WHS | designation1_offname = | designation1_type = Cultural | designation1_criteria = ii, iii, vi | designation1_date = 2021 | delisted1_date = | designation1_partof = ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz | designation1_number = 1636 | designation1_free1name = | designation1_free1value = | footnotes = The Worms Synagogue ( or ), also known as the Rashi Shul Synagogue, is a Jewish congregation and synagogue located in the Judengasse in the northern part of the city center of Worms, in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany.

Founded in the 11th century, the synagogue is one of the oldest in Germany. The Worms Synagogue was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021 (along with other medieval Jewish cultural sites in Speyer and Mainz), due to its historical importance and its testimony to the European Jewish cultural tradition through millennia.

History

The first synagogue at the site was built in 1034 and is therefore regarded as the oldest existing synagogue in Germany. The building was destroyed during the First Crusade in 1096 and subsequently rebuilt in 1175 in the Romanesque style. In 1186 a subterranean mikveh was constructed southwest of the synagogue. In 1213 a structure known as the "Women's Synagogue" was built adjacent to the main synagogue. It later served as a women's gallery for the women of Worms.

During the pogroms of 1349 (Persecution of Jews during the Black Death) and 1615 the synagogue was badly damaged: in both pogroms the vaulted ceilings and the walls were heavily damaged. During reconstruction after 1355 Gothic forms for the window and the vault were chosen. Of comparable seriousness was the damage after the fire of 1689 during the Nine Years' War. When the building was restored in 1700, the interior was renovated in period style.

In response to growing dissatisfaction among Orthodox members of the Jewish community with the increasingly progressive character of the Worms Synagogue - particularly after the removal of the gender separation in 1842 and the installation of an organ in 1877 - Leopold Levy (1801–1877), a grain merchant, established a new synagogue. He converted his former grain warehouse in the Judengasse into a place of worship that met Orthodox standards and had the building consecrated in 1875. Levy was careful to ensure that the new synagogue remained under the ownership of the main Jewish community of Worms, aiming to prevent fragmentation into smaller sectarian groups.

On Kristallnacht in 1938 the synagogue was once again attacked and reduced to rubble. It was painstakingly reconstructed in 1961, using as many of the original stones as could be salvaged. The synagogue, open as a museum, continues to be a functioning synagogue used by the Jewish community.

In May 2010, the synagogue was firebombed by arsonists, suspected to be anti-semites. The firebombs were thrown against eight corners of the stone building and against a window, but no one was injured and no serious damage to the building was reported.

Architecture

Built at the point when the late Romanesque style was fading and Gothic rising, the rectangular prayer hall features a pair of Romanesque columns supporting groin vaults. The windows in the thick stone walls are simple gothic arches. The windows in the adjoining study hall, the so-called Rashi Shul, have rounded Romanesque arches. The women’s section of the prayer hall has Romanesque windows on the eastern wall, and gothic windows on the western wall.

Gallery

File:V10p325001 Rashi Synagogue.jpg|Pre-1938 interior of the Rashi Shul File:WormsSynagogeInnen.jpg|Interior File:Grundriss Synagoge Worms.tif|Plan of the synagogue (I-Main synagogue. II-Women's synagogue. III-Lobby. IV-Rashi Shul) File:Synagoge Worms-4162.jpg|The dedication inscription for the synagogue, written in 1034 File:Worms Synagogue; Rubble.jpg|Ruins of the synagogue, 1945

References

References

1. "ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz". [[UNESCO.
2. (2020). "ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz: Nomination Dossier". Ministry for Science, Further Education and Culture Rhineland-Palatinate.
3. Reuter, Fritz. (2015). "Geschichte der Stadt Worms". Theiss.
4. Fritz Reuter: ''Warmaisa – das jüdische Worms. Von den Anfängen bis zum jüdischen Museum des Isidor Kiefer (1924).'' In: Gerold Bönnen: ''Geschichte der Stadt Worms.'' 2. Auflage. Theiss, Darmstadt 2015, pp. 689-690. ISBN 978-3-8062-3158-8.
5. "Worms Synagogue". Sacred destinations.
6. "Anti-Zionists Firebomb Kristallnacht Synagogue, Demand PA Peace". Israel National News.
7. "Polizei findet mehrere Bekennerschreiben: Brandanschlag auf die Synagoge in Worms". RP-Online.
8. Meek, H. A.. (1995). "The Synagogue". Phaidon.

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