Monheim Town Hall
| Monheim Town Hall | |
|---|---|
Monheimer Rathaus | |
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Town hall |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Location | Monheim, Germany |
| Coordinates | 48°50′N 10°50′E / 48.833°N 10.833°E |
| Construction started | 1714 |
| Completed | 1720 |
| Cost | Baroque |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | Three |
The Monheim Town Hall (German Monheimer Rathaus) serves today as a building for the city council in Monheim, Bavaria.
The building, constructed from 1714 to 1720 for a rich Jewish merchant, the Court Jew Abraham Elias Model, is most notable for its ceilings, displaying motives from the Old Testament, or Tanakh, which were restored in 1978 and 1994 respectively.[1] [2]
History
The Jewish community
The Jewish community in Monheim was established in 1697, when Duke Johann Wilhelm allowed six Jewish families which had been banned from Eichstätt, to settle in Monheim. The new community was allowed to acquire property in Monheim, to construct a Synagogue and to work as merchants in town. In the following years, the community grew considerably, numbering 19 families and 150 people by 1737.[3]
The prospering community however raised concerns with the local population, which was worried about eventually becoming outnumbered in town. In 1736, restrictions were passed, allowing only a limited number of weddings to be conducted by the local Jews at considerable cost. In 1741, Duke Charles III Philip passed an act banning all Jews from Palatinate-Neuburg. By the 31 July 1741, all Jews had to leave his lands and were only permitted to take with them what they could carry. No financial compensation was made for their loss of property. The Jews from Monheim left for the towns in the region not part of Palatinate-Neuburg and their origin from this town remained obvious until the Nazi era through the surname Monheimer.[3]
The town hall
The location of the current town hall was acquired by Abraham Elias Model in 1712 from Ferdinand Kugler for 1,025 Gulden,[3] which owned a brewery and guest house at the spot, called Gasthaus zur Rose. Model had the old building demolished and comissioned a new building to be constructed, which was errected between 1714 and 1720.[1]
The new building, which was refered to in the local town chronicals as "very precious", was built in Baroque style. It was a square three-story building which was richly decorated, especially the ceilings. The main room on the first floor, now the council chambers, depict Abraham being prevented by the angel from sacrifing Isaac, with a text in Hebrew from the Book of Genesis .[1] [3]
The ceiling, long hidden, was only restored in 1978.[1] Two more ceilings, also on the first floor, were restored in 1994. One depicts Moses receiving the Ten Commandments while the other shows King David playing the harp.[3]
For a time it was assumed that the house also functioned as a synagogue, Monheim having a Rabbi since 1715, but this has since been disproven. Of the former synagoge at the near-by building that later became the guest house Zum Ochsen, nothing is left.[1] [3]
With the forced departure of the jews in 1741, the building came in non-Jewish pocession. Apart from being the town hall, it also functioned as school house for a time and also housed the local Kindergarten.
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Jacob dreaming of the ladder to heaven. -
Abraham and Isaac. -
Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.
Further reading
- Template:De icon Monheim - Kleine Stadt mit grosser Vergangenheit,a history of Monheim, published: 1990
References
- ^ a b c d e Template:De icon Monheim - Kleine Stadt mit grosser Vergangenheit, page: 120-123
- ^ Die Junge Pfalz Template:De icon The young Palatinate, page: 11, accessed: 6 August 2010
- ^ a b c d e f History of the Jewish community in Monheim Template:De icon, accessed: 6 August 2010