Little is known about the early history of the Jews of Obernbreit. It is certain that Jewish people have lived in the village since the 16th century. Since then, the Jewish community has grown steadily. A synagogue was built in 1748, the structure of which has been preserved to this day.
After the opening of the Treuchtlingen-Würzburg railroad line, which passed by Obernbreit without a stop, many Jews emigrated from Obernbreit. They moved their homes and stores to Marktbreit or emigrated to America. In 1904, the Jewish religious community was merged with the one in Markbreit.
In 1912, the Jewish community sold the synagogue building to a farmer. The congregation had become too small to celebrate a valid service. In this way, the secularized building escaped destruction in 1938.
Between 1912 and 2005, seven owners used the former synagogue as a barn, repair shop or warehouse and carried out extensive conversions. What was not needed for the respective purpose was torn out and the interior was rebuilt to suit their own needs: The women's gallery, which was located above the neck of the cellar leading to the mikvah, was completely removed, a large opening was broken into the south wall, the floor was evenly leveled with a 15 cm thick layer of concrete and two intermediate floors were installed.
For many decades, only the chuppa stone (wedding stone) on the north façade of the former synagogue was a reminder of the building's significance. This was covered by plaster and paint and was in a poor condition due to weathering.
The decisive impetus for discovering its significance finally came from outside. The wife of a London rabbi drew attention to it. Pastor Walz had the stone restored in 1997 on the occasion of his 60th birthday. The stone was then placed under a preservation order, and later the entire building.
In 2005, the sponsoring and support association of the former Obernbreit synagogue was able to acquire the building and transformed it into a place of remembrance and encounter.
In 2007, the mikvah, the characteristic Jewish ritual bath, was also opened to the public. For many years it had been buried under rubble and a thick layer of concrete.
We knew of its existence from a family chronicle. In it, Josef Sänger, who was born in Obernbreit, described the bath in 1928: "A staircase [led] to the Mikveh, which had a well." The search began and after many hundreds of hours of work, the immersion bath and the many sandstone steps were uncovered. With its depth of around 9 meters below the building, the 45 original sandstone steps and its state of preservation, the Obernbreiter Mikveh is unique in Lower Franconia.