House Paradies

Width at front: c. 4 metres
The Paradies was built around 1560 by Heyum, son of Israel. It consisted of two buildings. The land belonged to the Engel opposite, Heyum's family home. The house name ("paradise") was chosen by the city paymaster's office to make clear the link with the Engel ("angel"). The house sign showed Adam and Eve naked on either side of the Tree of Knowledge with the snake. Today it can still be seen on some old grave stones at the cemetery in Battonnstraße. Generally, the house was occupied by members of prosperous families, such as the Winig family from Windecken (a former seat of the counts of Hanau), the Daidenbach family from Deidenberg near Malmedy in the Netherlands, and the Hanau family, which was descended from wealthy Moses Männle. At the beginning of the 17th century the house was also occupied at times by the butcher Ennos, known as "big Endres, the Jewish butcher". He died destitute in 1625. The house had a large number of inhabitants, with seven households in 1612 and five in 1709, when several occupants dealt in cloth and linen. The house was destroyed in the fire of 1711 but soon rebuilt. In 1862 the city took it over for demolition.