The Jewish Quarter of Regensburg. Archaeological analysis of the excavations at Neupfarrplatz 1995-1998

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Bernd Päffgen
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2018 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 401446177

The Jewish community in Regensburg was one of the oldest and most important in medieval Germany. But on February 21, 1519 the Regensburg city council decided the complete expulsion of all Jews. The Jewish district, grown over centuries, was almost completely destroyed during and shortly after the eviction. Already in 1931 Adolf Schmetzer tried to close the knowledge gaps concerning the shape of the Regensburg Jewish quarter. He achieved to reconstruct a still relevant outline of the Jewish quarter within the urban fabric, whose core was located at the present-day Neupfarrplatz. However, completely new results were provided on the topography of the Jewish quarter in the course of large-scaled archaeological investigations between 1995 and 1998 on an area to more than 3000 square metres. The excavations became inevitable due to a redesign of the square. So far these scientific findings have only been published in form of some preliminary reports. Outstanding is the discovery of the synagogue west of the Neupfarrkirche (consecrated 1540). The verification of several construction and modification phases pointing in Romanesque and Gothic times made a significant contribution to the image of medieval Jewish religious architecture. The excellently preserved cellars and about 40 building footprints of other district buildings have the potential to enrich substantially the knowledge of the medieval and early modern Jewish communities‘ material culture. In recent years a growing interest on Jewish archeology can be noted among the public and within the research community. The Regensburger corpus of finds and large-scale archaeological records are highly relevant to supplement the picture drawn by the existing, but very varying archaeological sources available in cities such as Cologne, Vienna, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Speyer and Worms. The excavation records and about 400 boxes of archaeological material have to be investigated. Additional 30 pallets of cut stones are stored in the depots of the Historical Museum of the City of Regensburg. An essential part of the project is a newly developed concept concerning the digital compilation of the excavation and building documentation as well as a three-dimensional reconstruction. The complete analysis oft the excavations at Neupfarrplatz promises new insights, especially in connection with the simultaneous evaluation of the written sources for Regensburger Judaism in the Middle Ages.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants