Tour
At the Jewish Museum Worms, you can experience a time travel through ShUM in one to two hours. Or here – through photos and films, short texts and icons, we tell you about the structure of the exhibition - and then you will perhaps travel to Worms?
The Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum in the Rashi-House shows the exhibition on the ShUM communities in the ground floor and basement. In the lecture room, you can watch some movies about history and marvel at 3-D reconstructions of Jewish monuments.
Gateway to ShUM
Go through the gate. There the time travel begins. Prayers, horse carts and singing Women accompany you.
UNESCO World Heritage
The ShUM-Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz
What is World Heritage? Why are the ShUM-Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz as unique as the Taj Mahal, the Ayers Rock or the Cathedral of Speyer? Here you can find out more about them and get closer to the outstanding, exemplary synagogues, women’s shuln, yeshivot, ritual baths and cemeteries.
Jewish places
Imperial cathedrals and Jewish quarters are in close vicinity in the ShUM cities. When did Jews come to the three cities on the Rhine? Legends and unique documents tell you about this.
Worms’ Synagogue
Almost 1000 years of history and an endless number of stories. The building looks back on bright and dark times, tells of destruction and reconstruction, of the Shoah and the subsequent recovery.
Shoah
An installation disturbing the room tells about the Shoah and safeguards six exemplary biographies, e.g. of Elisabeth Spies or Heinz Guttmann.
Movies
Watch historical film footage of the reopening of the Worms: synagogue on December 3, 1961 – or a short film on the history of the Worms’ synagogue. You can also listen to the son of a Worms Jew, who tells of his family history.
Women
Immerse into the world of women in ShUM. Jewish women are important and respected members of the community in the Middle Ages. They take responsibility in and for the community, are educated and employed.
Water
Each Jewish community needs water for ritual purification. What is a mikveh? When do women or men use the ritual bath? Immerse yourself and get to know this cleansing process – also through a film that lets you descend into the breathtaking medieval mikveh in Speyer.
Scholarship
Meet the great scholars: Eleazar of Worms, Rashi and Gershom ben Jehuda. Meet learned women like Dulcia and the daughters of Rashi. Learn about the legal statutes of the Takkanot ShUM. Accompany the Worms' Machzor on its journey through centuries and as far as Israel. And what has Leonard Cohen to do with ShUM?
Thousands of Stones
The medieval Jewish cemeteries in Mainz and Worms bear witness to the history and people of the communities. These places underline: Jewish cemeteries are eternal places, places of remembrance and of rootedness. Meet Rivka and Jaakow. Discover lions, flowers and jugs. Marvel at the goblet of the Chevra Kadisha from the early 17th century.
News from ShUM
ShUM was innovative and modern! ShUM is still a magnetizing attraction for Jews today. ShUM stays in the news ... Read and listen by yourself. Petra Gerster was present at all important events and reports for you!
Jewish places
Get to know the Judengasse. Since when did Jews live here? Why do the houses bear names and house signs? A map, which vividly interweaves the latest building research and historical knowledge, shows you the Judengasse as it was in 1760! Last but not least: a large, illuminated wall dates from the late 12th century. The original plaster is from that time. The Rashi-House has seen a lot ... listen to the story, told by a voice that seems to come out of the walls.
Take a look around further, delve into highlights under “Explore the exhibition”.