Altenkunstadt (County of Lichtenfels, Upper Franconia)
Synagoge in Altenkunstadt von außen, © Josef Motschmann
Synagogue
The Altenkunstadt Synagogue dates back to 1726. For more than 200 years it was a religious and cultural center for the local Jewish community. During the 1938 November Pogrom against Jews and their property, the synagogue’s interior was destroyed and the building was expropriated for other uses: it held prisoners of war, refugees and expellees.
In the post-war period, the municipality used the building as a sports hall and warehouse. With the exception of two Jews who survived the war, the entire Jewish community was deported in 1942 to Izbica, where they were murdered. In 1988, the newly formed “Interest Group Synagogue Altenkunstadt” had a reproduction of the 1726 wedding stone installed in the outer wall. The former Jewish community once used the wedding stone for the ritual of breaking a glass to conclude the Jewish wedding ceremony.
Since its renovation in 1993, the synagogue has hosted cultural events and meetings and served as a memorial site. In the women’s gallery of the former sanctuary, a permanent exhibition tells the story of the Jews of the Upper Main Valley. Just outside the nearby town of Burgkunstadt lies a regional Jewish cemetery that dates back to 1620. Until 1940, it served as burial site for many Jewish communities between Bayreuth, Kronach and Lichtenfels. It holds more than 2,000 graves.
Synagogue
Judenhof 3
D-96264 Altenkunstadt
Opening hours:
Synagogue: by arrangement
Jewish Cemetery: Key available
during the opening hours of the
Municipality of Burgkunstadt in
the town hall (Rathaus, Vogtei 5,
Tel. +49 (0)572 3880)
Tour booking:
Inge Goebel, Tel. +49 (0)572 2784
Josef Motschmann Tel. +49 (0)573 7999
Tours through the Synagogue of Altenkunstadt
and to the Jewish cemetery near Burgkunstadt
can be booked by arrangement.