The “little Jerusalem” of the lower Moselle
Beilstein, a picturesque little town on the lower Moselle, was home to an exceptionally large Jewish community — relative to its overall population — from the 14th century until the early 20th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, about ten Jewish families lived here, having fled persecution in the Oberwesel area. The knight Johann von Braunshorn settled them in Beilstein in order to stimulate the local economy.
By the middle of the 19th century, more than a quarter of Beilstein’s inhabitants were Jewish — the highest proportion of any town in the administrative districts of Koblenz and Trier. During this period, Beilstein was sometimes popularly called “little Jerusalem on the Moselle”.
Synagogue, school and mikveh
The last synagogue building was constructed partly in the 18th and partly in the early 19th century. Built of rubble stone, it was two storeys high and had a women’s gallery. The same building also housed the Jewish school and a ritual bath (mikveh). The present-day entrance can be found at Weingasse 13.
Decline and new use
Already at the beginning of the 20th century, most Jewish families left Beilstein for the larger cities. By the eve of the First World War, only two families remained. In 1925, after years without services, the synagogue building was sold. The last Jewish family living in Beilstein moved to Cologne in 1939.
In 1990 a new owner acquired the vacant building and carefully restored it; since then it has served as a gallery and exhibition space. The Jewish cemetery of Beilstein lies a little outside the town on the hillside — a quiet place that preserves the memory.