Jewish treasures go on display in one of Europe's oldest synagogues

Erfurt, Germany - The old synagogue in the eastern German city of Erfurt, founded around the year 1100, was officially opened as a museum housing Jewish treasure and artefacts on Monday. The Jewish house of worship, constructed near the town hall in the city centre from 1094, fell into disuse after a pogrom in the year 1349 claimed the lives of around 900 Jews.

The building went through a series of uses as a warehouse, a dance hall, a pub and a bowling alley, before a multi-million euro facelift returned it to its Jewish roots.

The museum now displays items that include precious gold and silver items, and a rare large Hebrew parchment Bible.

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the exhibition played an important role in understanding historical events.

"I hope that Erfurt's rich Jewish inheritance contributes to a better understanding between Jews and non-Jews, but also helps the Jewish community grow together," Knobloch said, referring in part to immigrants from the former Soviet Union who now form the majority of Germany's Jewish community.

"Mazel tov," meaning "good luck," is inscribed on a gold wedding ring, which forms the highlight of a collection of gold- and silverware buried under a doorstep by a Jewish merchant during the pogrom in 1349.

Knobloch used the occasion to speak of the fate of 6 million Jews killed in Nazi Germany, adding that lessons of the distant past hadn't been learned by 1933.

"Mazel tov" presumably hadn't helped the bearer of the wedding ring, Knobloch mused.

After the ravages of Nazi Germany and subsequent years of East German rule, all that remained was a vague suspicion that there had once been a synagogue in the centre of Erfurt.

Initial investigations in the late 1980s identified the building, which had retained a few original features such as an ornate rosette window. The site was bought and restored with funding from the state of Thuringia, the federal government and the EU.

The museum's curator, Ines Beese, said she hoped the collection would highlight Erfurt's role as a centre of Jewish life in the Middle Ages.

"The historical monument is our number one exhibit. With this, Erfurt can really score points when it comes to historical and political culture," Beese said.

Other features recalling the city's Jewish past include a historic graveyard and traditional Jewish baths, or mikwah, recently uncovered by the Kraemer bridge in the old city centre.

Erfurt is hoping its Jewish memorial sites will qualify the city as a World Heritage Site.