The Horb Synagogue: Retracing Roots

Abstract:Only a portion of the interior paintings of the prayer room from Horb am Main survive, and they are now exhibited in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The exhibition offers little information regarding the room’s original location and its missing parts. Based on new findings – the location of the original site and newly published photographs taken in situ before the dismantling of the prayer room – this article provides information about the original location of the Horb prayer room within the building, and the missing interior wall structure and decorations. The linking of the architectural and decorative aspects to the original location sheds light on the creation and perception of visual art in a small pre-emancipation Jewish community in Bavaria.