Old Synagogue (Erfurt)

Old Synagogue, Erfurt
Shown within Germany
Basic information
Location	Erfurt
Geographic coordinates	50°58′43.06″N 11°1′45.43″E / 50.9786278°N 11.0292861°E / 50.9786278; 11.0292861Coordinates: 50°58′43.06″N 11°1′45.43″E / 50.9786278°N 11.0292861°E / 50.9786278; 11.0292861
Affiliation	Judaism
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Country	Germany
Status	Museum
Website	Old Synagogue, Erfurt
Architectural description
Architectural type	Synagogue
Architectural style	Romanesque

The Alte Synagoge (Old Synagogue) in Erfurt, Germany, is one of the best preserved medieval synagogues in Europe, its oldest parts dating back to the late 11th century. Most parts of the building date from around 1250-1320. It is thought to be the oldest synagogue building intact to its roof still standing in Europe.. In 2015 it was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Since 2009 it has been used as a museum of local Jewish history. It houses the Erfurt Treasure, a hoard of medieval coins, goldsmiths' work and jewellery found in 1998. It also has facsimiles of the Erfurt Hebrew Manuscripts, a collection of 12th-14th century manuscripts that belonged to the medieval Jewish community of Erfurt.

The oldest parts of the building have been dated by dendrochronology to 1094. There was a second construction phase in the 12th century, from which part of the western wall, with a sandstone double-arched window, has been preserved.

Around 1270, a larger synagogue incorporating parts of the earlier building was constructed. The western façade, with five lancet windows and a large rosestte window, dates from this time. In the early 1300s, it was extended and another storey was added.

After the Erfurt Massacre of 1349, in which the Jewish population was murdered and expelled from the city, the synagogue was damaged. The city of Erfurt took ownership of the building and later sold it to a local merchant. It was converted into a warehouse and a vaulted cellar was built underneath. The alterations considerably changed the interior of the building and only the cornice around the former main prayer room was partly preserved.

From the 19th century, the building had various uses and had at different periods a ballroom, a restaurant and even two bowling alleys. These changes, and changes to the surrounding buildings, meant that the Old Synagogue, which is on a back lot down a narrow alleyway, was largely forgotten about. Its history wasn't recognised, which helped to protected it during the Nazi period.

It was not until the late 1980s that interest was awakened in the old building. The architectual historian Elmar Altwasser began to research it in 1992. Erfurt City Council bought the property in 1998 and extensively researched and conserved it.