The Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben

Founded in 1985, the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (Jewish Museum Augsburg Swabia) is the oldest Jewish museum in the Federal Republic of Germany to be supported by a foundation. It sees itself as a place that draws on the Jewish history of Bavarian Swabia to pose questions about the present and future of our society. The museum offers the opportunity to discuss aspects of history and society, migration and integration, homeland, religion and culture from a Jewish perspective.

Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben has two locations: the permanent exhibition is housed in the west wing of the Augsburg Synagogue in the city centre. The synagogue was built from 1913 to 1917 and is the only urban synagogue in Bavaria that was not destroyed in the Night of Broken Glass during the National Socialist period. Today, it is the heart of a Jewish community again. The Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben is funded by the free state of Bavaria, the city of Augsburg and the district of Swabia. In 2014, the second museum location was opened in the former Kriegshaber Synagogue. The oldest surviving synagogue in Bavarian Swabia was the heart of an important rural Jewish community from the early 18th century until the 20th century. The former Kriegshaber Synagogue site is funded by the city of Augsburg, the furnishings by the Landesstelle für die nichtstaatlichen Museen (Regional office for non-governmental museums) in Bayern.

Collection

The museum’s collection includes religious and ritual objects, everyday items, as well as papers and photographs documenting Jewish history and culture in Augsburg and the region. Permanent loans from the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (Bavarian National Museum) in Munich and private collections complement them. The heart of our collection is the Torah ornaments of the destroyed Jewish communities of Swabia, including outstanding pieces by Augsburg silversmiths from the 17th to 19th centuries. The museum systematically researches the provenance of its collection objects in order to reconstruct their origin as completely as possible.

Education

The museum offers a wide range of themed tours, workshops, city walks and project days for schoolchildren, teachers, adults, families and international guests.

Network

The museum coordinates the activities of the “Network of Historical Synagogue Sites in Bavarian Swabia”, an alliance of municipalities and initiatives with a shared commitment to researching and educating on the once rich Jewish culture in the region with joint projects.

• The objects of the "Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben" available on bavarikon

Collections owned by the "The Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben" available in bavarikon

• Ritual and Everyday Objects from the Collection of the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben
• Manuscripts and Printed Materials from the Collection of the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (in preparation)
• Photographs from the Collection of the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (in preparation)
• Testimonies from the Synagogues within the Contemporary Augsburg City Area in the Collection of the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (in preparation)
• Objects and Testimonies of Families and Individuals from the Collection of the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (in preparation)
• Objects and Testimonies of Companies, Institutions and Associations from the Collection of the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (in preparation)
• Works of Art from the Collection of the Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (in preparation)