Important information about our outdoor area

Important information about our outdoor area

An unusual place close to the violets

Near the hotel Spa “LES VIOLETTES” is the Israelite cemetery of Jungholtz, one of the oldest in Alsace.

This unusual place is located on the site of the former Jungholtz castle. This was erected in 1220 by the Knight of Jungholtz. The castle was destroyed during the French Revolution.

A tax for each burial

There are writings dating from the 13th century relating the presence of a Jewish cemetery in Jungholtz. The oldest stele still legible dates from 1624. In 1623, the Bishop of Strasbourg prohibited Jews living on his estate from owning synagogues and religious schools. The local lords were more tolerant than the bishop or the abbots of Murbach. In particular the barons of Schauenbourg occupying, since the 15th century, as vassals, the castle of Jungholtz. The Schauenbourgs had fought bravely during the Thirty Years’ War, but at the beginning of the 17th century they were “without money”, which did not escape the Jewish community.

She appointed a group of notables to negotiate the acquisition of land in order to create a cemetery. They negotiated with the barons of Schauenbourg and obtained in 1655 the right to bury their dead in part of the castle grounds.

The agreement provided that the Jewish community would have the usufruct in exchange for a tax at each burial.

The rise of the Jewish community

A new concession was negotiated on the same terms in 1670 and again in 1680. In 1716, the Rabbi of Soultz negotiated a new concession for the price of 1264 pounds. From 1730, the Jewish community of Jungholtz experienced considerable growth requiring the creation of a synagogue and a Jewish school. This increase in the Jewish population led to the acquisition of a new concession in 1738 for the sum of 1600 pounds. In 1767, the lack of space led to the acquisition of a new concession. In 1779, forty-one Jewish communities ranging from the north of Colmar to Belfort were attached to the Jungholtz cemetery.

The revolution

The cemetery was ransacked and the tombstones destroyed to be used as building material. Out of 2000 graves listed in 1789, only about ten remained standing. During the revolution the bishops of Strasbourg were dispossessed of their lands of Jungholtz in favor of the Schauenbourgs. But these having emigrated, the lands were given to the nation and managed by an administrator.

In 1795, the estate was sold as national property. It was immediately bought by the Jewish community, but this sale was contested by the two Schauenbourg brothers on their return to France. They won their case and the land was shared between the brothers.

In order to reclaim the cemetery, the Jewish community exchanged a lot for an orchard and bought a second lot in 1798.

In 1846, an oratory consisting of a room for funeral rites and the washing of bodies was built within the grounds of the cemetery. During the 19th century, the different communities attached to the cemetery of Jungholtz will be in constant decline. That of Jungholtz, which had 44 families in 1784, was, in 1880, only made up of 12 people. This decline in population led to financial difficulties for the maintenance of the cemetery.

The two world wars

During the 1st World War, the cemetery suffered collateral damage from the Vieil Armand battlefield. A German bunker was dug there. The 2nd World War and Nazi barbarism dealt the final blow to the cemetery, which was completely ransacked.

The road to Thierenbach, which once bypassed the cemetery, was rectified and crossed the cemetery passing over numerous graves. Four hundred other graves were also destroyed to make way for a sports ground for the Hitler Youth. Today there are just over 1000 tombstones and is still active.

If you visit this unusual place steeped in history, respect Jewish tradition by placing a small pebble on a grave as a sign of respect. This replaces the flowers which are proscribed by Jewish tradition in places where the dead sleep.

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