Since the wine-growing town of Rödelsee installed a viewing platform on the slope of the Schwanberg, the ancient cemetery has also come to the attention of visitors from a bird's eye view.
Hardly any visitor can escape the archaic effect of the “Juden Schedelstatt”, which is fenced in by a 600-meter-long wall.
First mentioned in records in 1432 and 1526, the cemetery “am Steig” was officially authorized by Wilhelm Moritz von Heßberg in 1563 and by Friedrich Albert von Heßberg in 1602, who also authorized the construction of a morgue for ritual washing and the first wall.
In this “good place”, in the “house of (eternal) life”, the dead were to rest until the arrival of the Messiah. Today, however, Jewish burials in Lower Franconia take place exclusively in Würzburg.
There were reasons why the Jewish cemetery, where around 20 communities were buried, was established in Rödelsee. After the expulsion of the prince-bishops and margraves from cities such as Würzburg or Kitzingen from the middle of the 16th century, Jews were able to settle in this village under four competing noble and ecclesiastical rulers, which sometimes benefited the so-called “Schutzjuden” (protected Jews). In addition, Rödelsee was geographically well situated in relation to neighboring towns and trade routes, which later benefited viticulture and wine trade in particular.
The Jewish cemetery was a cornerstone of community life for the rapidly developing Jewish population.
The local Jewish community was responsible for administration, supervision and maintenance.
Three original volumes of the cemetery book are kept in the archive of the Association for the Promotion of the Former Kitzingen Synagogue. Created in 1885 by Abraham Kissinger and carefully numbered until the death lists were kept by Hermann and Sophie Löwenstein in 1930-1940, graves can be clearly assigned to personalities.
Over the centuries, repeated desecration and theft of gravestones have been documented – empty graves and the loss of the Tahara house, which was set on fire during the Reichspogromnacht, bear witness to this.
At around 19,000 square meters, the Jewish Cemetery in Rödelsee is one of the largest in Bavaria. In the district, it is considered the second oldest cemetery after the Hohenfeld mountain cemetery. Former Jewish burial sites in Dettelbach and Rehweiler have disappeared, the well-preserved Jewish cemetery in Hüttenheim is significantly smaller, around 200 years old and tells its own story... The Jewish Cemetery Rödelsee - today also a “good place” for contemplation and discovery: be it rare wildflowers or a gate recently discovered under ivy, probably walled up since 1850.
In 2023, the municipality of Rödelsee designed the forecourt of the Jewish cemetery into a place of information and contemplation for all interested “onlookers”: A platform allows views over the wall to the different burial grounds. An impressive tactile model provides an overview of the entire site. Information boards illustrate and describe the sequence of burials according to the ritual requirements of the Torah and the history of the Jewish Cemetery in Rödelsee.
The gilded Star of David on the roof of the “priests' house” draws attention. From here, the Kohanim (men of priestly descent) could see the graves of their relatives from outside the wall – without entering the cemetery, in accordance with the ritual requirement. Their graves are adorned with blessing hands – the signet of the Jewish Cemetery Network Rödelsee.
The 2,100 remaining gravestones (formerly 5,000) for about 20 communities in the cemetery district face east towards Jerusalem. Since each Jewish grave is only used once, the cemetery was extended several times, resulting in similar burial grounds from the same period.
An impressive monument was erected for the soldiers who fell in the First World War.
Decorative symbols catch the eye on the gravestones: the Levite jug, the shofar horn, broken columns, bent roses, the “crown of good name”...
The inscriptions begin with two Hebrew letters (“Hier ruht” – “Here lies”) and end with the five of the closing formula “Seine/Ihre Seele sei eingebunden in den Bund des Lebens” – “May his/her soul be bound in the covenant of life”.
At the end of the 19th century, the Hebrew script was supplemented by German texts, and for a long time dates were only given according to the Jewish calendar (which begins 3761 years earlier).
The Jews organized their administration and funerals in a hevra, a voluntary brotherhood. The Hevra Kadisha (a female burial and welfare association) also took care of the seriously ill and provided for the mourners.
The deceased had to be transported from their place of residence to the “Judenacker” and buried within 24 hours.
The youngest, oldest and sick mourners only accompanied the dead to the city limits.
Ritual washing and clothing took place in the Taharahaus at the cemetery. Today, a memorial stone marks the victims of National Socialism. Only references to a deep well, expansion plans from 1921 and a photo remain of the structure. It shows the burnt-out ruin after the pogrom of November 10, 1938.
In the past, Jewish cemeteries were avoided and repeatedly desecrated. In recent years, however, this closed place has begun to attract life and the living. Beyond historical interest, it probably touches directly on the question of personal final resting places and the examination of mourning culture in our society.
