The synagogue in Kirchgasse
The tour through the Jewish Laufersweiler begins at the former synagogue in Kirchgasse. Today we know of two previous buildings in the same place. The first synagogue was destroyed by fire in 1839. A new two-story synagogue was built on the same site in 1844 using the company's own funds and capital borrowed from 100 thalers. As early as 1857 the building was in a "poor condition". The demolition took place in 1909. In 1910/11, today's synagogue building was erected in Kirchgasse. The synagogue was desecrated in the pogrom night of November 10, 1938, but the building itself was preserved. In 1955 the local community bought the property and made several structural changes. In April 1985 the Rhein-Hunsrück district administration placed the building under a preservation order. Extensive renovation work was carried out in 1986/87. In the former Thoranische, a three-part bronze relief commemorates the Jewish citizens from Laufersweiler who were murdered in the concentration camps. A permanent exhibition on the history of the Jews in Laufersweiler has been located on the ground floor of the synagogue since 1988 and the Forst Mayer Studies and Meeting Center for Rural Jewry has been on the upper floor since 2014. Source: Concept, design, text: Hans-Werner Johann