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Jewish Tercentenary Monument

In 1654, fearing oppression by the Portuguese who had recently conquered the Dutch settlement of Recife, Brazil, Jews living there set off for the Netherlands. However, rather than arriving safely in Amsterdam, one of the 16 ships carrying them was blown off course and robbed by pirates. The 23 survivors were picked up by a French ship heading to Canada and left off in New Amsterdam, as New York was then known.

In 1954, to mark the 300th anniversary of the arrival of Jews in North America, observations were held in many cities. Rabbi Ferdinand M. Isserman of Temple Israel formed a St. Louis committee to erect a suitable monument in Forest Park. The resulting sculpture was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1956.

Created by Danish-born Carl C. Mose, head of the Sculpture Department at Washington University, the monument features a flagpole with a wave-like limestone base. Depicted on the base are Biblical quotations relating to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous “Four Freedoms”: freedom from tyranny; of religion; from fear and war; and from want. Among other figures, a ship, symbolic of that which bore the refugees to New Amsterdam, is also represented.

In 1989, renovation of the monument was undertaken at the request of Forest Park Forever. Civic leader Howard Baer, then 87 and the sole living member of the original 1954 committee, chaired the fundraising effort and engaged Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum as architects for the project. The sculpture was raised up on a pedestal of nine steps and lighting, benches and sidewalks were added to Lopata Plaza surrounding the monument — named in honor of major contributors Lucy and Stanley Lopata. Ted and Nancy Koplar donated the fountains on the west side of the monument

St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum

The St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum uses the history and lessons of the Holocaust to reject hatred, promote understanding, and inspire change. You can learn about the Holocaust from those who lived it by reading inspirational stories from survivors who immigrated to St. Louis. We hope that our exhibits and programs, plus personal accounts of survivors, deepen understanding of the Holocaust.

Girona: Jewish Heritage Guided City Tour and Museum Visit

Beging in Plaça de Sant Feliu, with the guided tour through the Jewish neighborhood of Girona, one of the best-preserved in Europe. This district is located in the heart of the city and is full of ancient remains from its Roman and Medieval past. Known locally as “the Call”, this area was home to 1,000 inhabitants during the Middle Ages, making it one of the most important Jewish communities in Spain’s history.

As you explore the narrow streets of the Jewish Quarter — hometown of Nahmanides, the Medieval Kabbalistic philosopher, physician and Sephardic rabbi — you’ll visit the spots where the city’s 3 synagogues were located.

During the guided tour you will find out all about the customs and traditions of the Jewish people who lived here, as well as the tools that they used, and the design of their houses. You’ll also visit the Museum of Jewish History to learn about their way of life.

Your guide will then lead you around the labyrinthine streets while explaining the history of the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, an act that ended 600 years of coexistence. After 3 hours exploring the Call, your tour will come to an end, and you’ll have newfound knowledge of the profound influence that the Jewish community left in Girona.

Le Ferla

Come here for a meal right after visiting Girona Art Museum (Museu d’Art de Girona). You will be provided Mediterranean and Spanish cuisines at this restaurant. The convenient location of LaFerla makes it easy to reach by any transport. Based on the reviewers’ opinions, waiters serve good laing, tapas and fish here. It’s worth coming to this place for tasty panna cotta. You will be offered delicious wine.

Hotel Museu Llegendes de Girona

Housed in a restored 18th-century building, Hotel Museu Llegendes de Girona is located in Girona’s old town, 150 m from the Cathedral and Arab Baths. Rooms feature flat-screen TV, rain showers and free Wi-Fi. This design hotel offers elegant, individually decorated rooms. They all include air conditioning, a safe and minibar. The stylish modern bathrooms come with toiletries and slippers. Some have bathrobes.

Breakfast is served in the Museu Llegendes de Girona’s dining room. The hotel has its own bar, and the popular cafés and restaurants of Plaça Independencia are just 400 m away. Hotel Museu Llegendes de Girona offers views of Girona Cathedral and is just 200 m from the famous Jewish Quarter. The hotel’s tour desk can provide more information about the city.

Casa Adret Shows and Concerts

Casa Adret regularly hosts conferences, concerts, shows, debates and more as a way of showcasing the rich diversity of Jewish culture.

Sefer Jewish Book Festival

Every year, Barcelona hosts an festival dedicated to Jewish books in the broadest sense. The free programme includes not only round tables, presentations of authors and books, but also a sample of artistic activities specially designed for the context of our city, music and theatre, for example.

Rosheim

At the beginning of the 16th century, in a chaotic Holy Roman Empire due to unending conflicts, wars of religion and peasant revolts, plagued by all kinds of fears, the Jews were targeted with a lot of popular hatred.

It was in this context of violence that, in the small imperial town of Rosheim, in Lower Alsace, a scholar turned pawnbroker, Yossel (1476-1554), rose to defend his persecuted Jewish brothers. He went to meet with great men of his time in order to lift the threat on his co-religionists throughout the Empire. He succeeded in placing the Jews under the direct protection of Charles V. The emperor, listening to their counsel, repeatedly defended them against the terrible decisions of the princes and cities.
Uniquely in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Jews had a representative who was both invested by his brothers and recognized by the princes. Thanks to a safe-conduct from the emperor, the one who was since called “Yossel of Rosheim, commander of the German Jews” was able to travel everywhere, tirelessly defending his brothers in courts and imperial diets, and during public controversies.

Rosenwiller Cemetery

A charming wine-growing village, Rosenwiller is located in the hills above Rosheim, surrounded by hills rich with especially diverse wildlife and plants. At the edge of the woods, the Jewish Cemetery, one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Alsace, contains over 6,000 tombs featuring highly original sun patterns on the gravestones. A stroll through the vineyards will give you the chance to admire the panoramic views of the plain, before going to taste the various grape types of Alsace wine, which have been grown here since the 6th century.

Synagogue of Obernai

A Jewish community was mentioned here for the first time as early as 1215. The synagogue was built in 1876 and was financed by the 205 members of the Jewish community of that time. Among the many historical remains of Obernai three sites show the presence of an ancient and important Jewish community that still exists today.
The oldest remains can be found in the ruelle des Juifs, on the upright of a semi-circular sandstone portal, Hebrew letters are engraved, uneasy to decipher. This is probably the entrance to the first medieval synagogue, the one mentioned in 1454.

At 43 rue du Général Gouraud, in a courtyard located behind the portal, several elements remind us of the presence of a place of worship:
A keystone of an arcade bears the Hebrew date of 5456 and the corresponding date of the Christian era, 1696. The synagogue was built on the first floor, two years after Intendant La Grange authorized Jews to own houses. Under the entrance porch a corner sideboard shows the two blessing hands of Aaron, and the inscription: “the Master, Rabbi Samson, the Cohen”. In the doorframe in the back an oblique notch shows the place of the mezuzah.

Along the walls and in the stairwell to the right, protected by a glass roof, one can see elements of the old synagogue, built thanks to the generosity of Jacob Baruch Weyl in 1771. These are the remains of the holy ark (aron hakodesh), which contained the Torah scrolls, and of the reading gallery (almemor) where the rabbis officiated and where the Bima or table for placing the Torah scrolls was located. This is a rare example of rococo decoration in an Alsatian synagogue and act as a compensation for the sobriety of the exterior of the building. One can also discern the traces of three hammered lilies, reminding us that Louis XIV protected the Jews of Alsace.

The present synagogue is a neo-Romanesque building built according to the plans of the architect Brion, inaugurated in 1876 and re-inaugurated in 1948. The tympanum of the entrance portal bears the Star of David with French and Hebrew inscriptions. Two sculpted capitals on either side of the door are the rare elements of exterior decoration.

Images attribution: © Ralph Hammann – Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons; Chris06, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons; I, Ondřej Žváček, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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