International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies

Print

Coat of arms of Heidelberg Alternate names: Heidelberg [Ger], Heidelburg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.: 49 ° 25 'N, 08 ° 42' E, on the River Neckar in the Odenwald, halfway between Stuttgart and Frankfurt, 11 miles ESE of Mannheim, in NW Baden-Württemberg. Jewish population: 927 (in 1900), 1.421 (in1925). The first reliable evidence of the presence of Jews in Heidelberg dates from 1275. Jewish history.

69115–69126 Baden-Württemberg (Gerz, Peters)
ADMINISTRITATIVE REGION: Karlsruhe
LOCATION OF CEMETERIES: (I) Middle Ages, (II) End of 17th Century (III) Klingenteich, (IV) Bergfriedhof .

(I) Middle Ages On the Plöck between today's Sandgasse and Theatrerstrasse Heidelberg 69117.
HISTORY:

  • 1344 first mentioned, 1369 enlarged, 1391 forcibly closed by decree with gravestones being removed and transferred to an area owned by the University of Heidelberg.
  • 1971 a gravestone fragment with Hebrew lettering was found during restoration work in the house Untere Strasse 20. (Szklanowski 1984, page 17). The original fragment is now in the Kurpfälzischen Museum Heidelberg and a replica is in the synagogue of Heidelberg.
PUBLICATIONS:
SOURCE: University of Heidelberg.

LOCATION OF CEMETERY: (II) End of 17th Century, east of St-Anna-Kirche, Plöck Nr.6, Heidelberg 69117.
IN USE: Between 1688 – 1702.
NUMBER OF GRAVESTONES: no traces.
PUBLICATIONS:
NOTES:
  • Prior to 1689 the Jewish cemeteries in Wiesloch and also one of several in Worms may have been used for burials by the Heidelberg Jewish community.
SOURCE: University of Heidelberg.

LOCATION OF CEMETERY: (III) Klingenteichstrasse, Heidelberg 69117.
IN USE: from 1702 until 1876. Oldest dated gravestone 1784.
NUMBER OF GRAVESTONES: 180.
DOCUMENTATION:
  • 1982/83 photographs of all gravestone and copies of all inscriptions with translations by Benno Szklanowski.
  • 1987 photographs of all gravestones with cemetery layout by Zentralarchiv.
  • Photographs of gravestones and general views of cemetery in Alemannia Judaica.
PUBLICATIONS:
  • History by Löwenstein 1895, pages 134-135.
  • History in Heidelberg, pages 31-34.
  • Photographic overall view of cemetery by Hundsnurscher/Taddey 1968, figures # 85 and 86.
  • Complete cemetery documentation by Szklanowski 1984.
  • History in Heidelberg 1992 pages 300-301.
  • History in Heidelberg 1996, pages. 62, 200-201, 571.
  • Documents re: land purchase for synagogue and cemetery (18th century) Source: LBI storage location A 21/7, accession number(s): AR 4896.
  • Der alte jüdische Friedhof am Klingenteich in Heidelberg 1702-1876” by Benno Szklanowski ID # NB 1870 S9 Source LBI.
  • Heidelberg-Klingenteich: Eine Stätte des Gedenkens: zur Umgestaltung des alten Judenfiedhofs am Klingenteich” by Werner Schindler, Heidelberg, ID # q GT 3250 B45 S3 Source LBI.
  • Memorial Book; item 9.6 Leiningen. Source LBI.
NOTE:
  • The cemetery is not accessible without a key, which can be obtained from the Jüdische Kultusgemeinde, Hauml;usserstr. 10, Tel.: 06221/587144 or 06221/905240.
SOURCE: University of Heidelberg and Alemannia Judaica.

LOCATION OF CEMETERY: (IV) Bergfriedhof, Rohrbacherstrasse 115, Heidelberg 69115 (Detail : lower arrow). This cemetery is known as the ‘Neue Friedhof’ (new cemetery).
IN USE: from 1870 until the present day.
NUMBER OF GRAVESTONES: 729 (in 1986)
DOCUMENTATION:
  • 1986 photographs of all gravestones as well as cemetery plan by Zentralarchiv.
  • 1999 full cemetery documentation with above photographs by State Office for Historic Monuments (Landesdenkmalamt ed: Guido Kleinberger).
  • Numerous photographs of gravestones and general views of cemetery in Alemannia Judaica.
PUBLICATIONS:
NOTES:
  • This cemetery contains a mortuary with various memorial plaques.
SOURCE: University of Heidelberg and Alemannia Judaica.
[Researched and translated from German April 2008]

To see information and photographs of individual gravestones in cemeteries in Baden-Wuerttemberg, click on this link and follow the directions on that page.