House Schule

Width at front: c. 6 metres

The Schule was one of the oldest houses in the Judengasse. In 1560 it was described as a small and nameless house where the schoolmaster Götz lived. After this it was the official accommodation for employees of the Jewish community, the shames, the cantor and the shochet. Possibly it also had a room for prayer where services were held. This probably made it the oldest community building. Around 1600 the famous Jewish scholar Akiwa Frankfurter, known as Kiwe, had the house expanded. After this it stopped being a community house and became a private dwelling like any other house.
Meanwhile the house, which continued to be known as Schule, had developed into a spacious complex of buildings with a frontal width of c. 6 metres and comprising two front and two rear buildings. Over the centuries the complex continued to house community employees like Liberman the hekdesh director, and business people. In the great fire of 1711 the house was destroyed but later rebuilt. In 1694 there were eight families living in the complex, some of them dealing in fur, linen, silverware, hides and paper. One occupant made a living as a seamstress for Jews, and another was a cantor at the synagogue. Fifteen years later there were 11 families in the front and rear buildings with a total of 61 occupants, including a rabbi. In the 18th century this large complex was occupied by a number of families, including the Rindskopf, Schuster-Öttingen and Oppenheimer families. The house was destroyed in the fire of 1711 but soon rebuilt. In 1864 the city took it over for demolition one year later.