Description of the attraction
The Jewish Museum is located in the Wertheimer House, a historic building named after the Hungarian rabbi Samson Wertheimer (1658-1724). The decision to found a Jewish museum in Eisenstadt was made in 1969 at the forum of the Institute for Jewish Studies at the University of Vienna. The museum was opened three years later, in 1972.
The Jewish Museum is located on an area of almost 1000 square meters. meters and is divided into several exhibition halls.
While visiting the museum, you can see a private synagogue located on the first floor of the building. This small synagogue is one of the few that was not damaged during Kristallnacht (or Night of Broken Glass) in November 1938. This was the first such large-scale attack by the Nazis on Jews. That night there was a massive wave of Jewish pogroms in the territory of the Third Reich, 267 synagogues were destroyed, 91 Jews were killed, hundreds were wounded and maimed, thousands were humiliated and insulted, more than 30 thousand were sent to concentration camps.
Also, the museum offers to get acquainted with its permanent exhibition, which gives a comprehensive overview of Jewish life and the history of Jews in Burgenland. At the end of the exhibition, there is an impressive memorial hall dedicated to the seven prominent Jewish communities of Burgenland.
Also, the museum has a library that contains over 10,000 volumes. Some of the books are in the permanent exhibition of the museum, mostly books from the 18th century. In addition, the library has a large collection of facsimile editions of famous books. The valuable collection of Yiddish books deserves special attention.
The museum is located in the Unterstadt (Lower City) district, where about 3,000 Jews expelled from Vienna have settled since 1670. There are two old Jewish cemeteries not far from the museum.
