Mikveh – Jewish Ritual Bath
At present the Mikveh or Jewish ritual bath with its shaft reaching down 17 metres to groundwater level, can be seen underneath a wooden covering in the Town Hall Square. Its first building phase dates back to a time before 800 AD. After 1096 the Mikveh was remodelled to the state as preserved today. Prior to that, an entrance room was located above the ground through which daylight fell into the bathing shaft. Members of the community had to visit the ritual bath after any violation of the purity laws. Furthermore, women were obliged to clean themselves ritually before marriage, after giving birth and after menstruation. Visitors of the Mikveh passed a small changing room before descending down a flight of stairs into the shaft where they eventually reached the surface of the water to submerge. Down the steps, wall niches were met for the deposition of the towels and candles.
After the final eviction of the Jewish community in 1424, the Mikveh was in large parts filled and used as a lavatory, the upper part functioned as a stable. The ritual bath was only rediscovered during excavations after the war, but has since been made accessible to the public.