Jewish life in the official town of Iphofen in Würzburg
With the annihilation of the Jewish religious community during the "Rintfleisch persecution" in 1298, Jewish life in Iphofen was, according to previous opinion, extinct. The current evaluation of the sources in the town and parish archives shows a more differentiated picture. Despite all the restrictions imposed on Christian merchants by episcopal mandates, Jewish families remained present in Iphofen for centuries. Jewish merchants acquired residential buildings in the town center, especially in the Judengasse (today Heringsgasse) and on the market square, and contributed to Iphofen's centrality for the surrounding area with their wide range of products during the fairs, but also as livestock and occasionally as wine merchants. They granted loans, supported the citizens by lending cows as draught cattle, supplied the inhabitants of Iphofen and the neighboring villages with food and various "cramwaren", and during the Thirty Years' War, but also during the coalition wars, they contributed significantly to the contribution payments and the cattle and hay deliveries demanded by occupying troops.
A turning point was the expulsion decree of the cathedral chapter on May 6, 1683, which prohibited commercial transactions with Jews, forcing them to sell their houses in Iphofen and leave the town within six weeks. However, the decree was only implemented hesitantly, as Iphofen craftsmen were just as reliant on Jewish traders to sell their products as crofters who wanted to market their wine.
The citizens even feared that without Jewish help "our poor women and children would have to walk naked and bare."
It was not until the 18th century that Christian merchants, with the support of chamber councillor Gallus Jakob, succeeded in obtaining new episcopal decrees for Iphofen and thus ousting the Jewish competition. The "Boveri merchants" reactivated the old, almost forgotten host revolt legend and brought the blood flowing from a consecrated host allegedly desecrated by Jews to the fore in order to justify the expulsion of Jewish families. But despite all the bans, trade between Iphöf citizens and Jewish business partners did not come to a standstill.
After the Bavarian Jewish edict of 1813, master craftsmen from Iphöfer became involved as trainers for Jewish apprentices from neighboring villages. Jewish apprentices and journeymen from Hüttenheim, Dornheim and Obernbreit sought training and examination certificates from butcher Johann Brech. Shoemaker Heinrich Rausch and master weaver Erhard Uschold acted as competent trainers for Jewish apprentices from Rödelsee. The parents took care of the food, the masters took care of the training and accommodation for the apprentices.
The Rödelsee Jewish cemetery is also mentioned in the Iphöfer archives. The "judenkirchhoff" near Rödelsee is mentioned in the town court records as early as 1447. In August 1686, "Abraham jud" commissioned "mauer arbeith zu Rödelsee ufm judenackher" from the Iphöfer stonemason Christoph Höhn. The Iphöfer official accounts provide information about the places of origin of the dead and the number of burials at the "Rödelseer Leichhof". For 1802, 42 deceased were listed (8 men, 13 women and 21 children). The home parishes listed in 1802 were: Bullenheim (1), Dornheim (2), Hüttenheim (5), Kleinlangheim (3), Mainbernheim (6), Mainstockheim (4), Marktsteft (1), Nenzenheim (3), Obernbreit (2), Prichsenstadt (1), Rödelsee (6), Scheinfeld (1), Sickershausen (2) and Wiesenbronn (5).
Josef Endres
