OLD SYNAGOGUE

This ^12th-century synagogue, miraculously preserved to the present day, is now a museum. Here, you can visit the interior of this superb building, which is beautifully presented. Upstairs, in the prayer room, religious objects are on display, including medieval Torah scrolls and the largest known Hebrew Bible, as well as the "Erfurt Jewish Oath", dating from the ^12th century and the oldest surviving Jewish oath in German. In the basement's treasure room, magnifying glasses are used to admire jewelry objects that once belonged to Erfurt's Jewish community. The highlight of the exhibition is a ^14th-century wedding ring in pure gold. The synagogue was converted into a warehouse and then a restaurant after 1349 and the expulsion of the Jews from Erfurt. The Nazis were thus unaware that the building was originally a synagogue, and it survived the period unscathed, unlike most of the country's other synagogues, which were destroyed during the infamous Kristallnacht. The synagogue was rediscovered in the 1980s, and restoration work was successfully undertaken to remove the "gastronomic" furnishings and bring back the Jewish elements. The museum opened its doors in 2009, offering an interesting and in-depth insight into the Jewish history of the city and the country. A guided tour (Saturday and Sunday) will give you an even deeper insight into the importance of Erfurt's Jewish community in the past.