Photo: Björn Sothmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Museum in der Präparandenschule

Two documentation rooms in Höchberg tell the story of the Jewish community and of the Israelitische Präparandenschule (Israelite teacher preparatory school).

Opening hoursFree admission

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About the museum

For three and a half centuries the Jewish community was an established part of Höchberg. Around the scholar Lazarus Ottensoser, rabbi of the village from 1828, a private study circle formed around 1840 that soon became known far beyond Bavaria. In 1861 it was converted into the "Israelitische Präparandenschule". It prepared young men for the Israelite teacher training institute in Würzburg, the only training establishment for Jewish teachers in Germany.

In 1865 Ottensoser acquired the property at Sonnemannstraße 15 together with the merchant Samuel Eldod; it housed the school and living quarters. After 1933 Jews were prohibited from settling in the village; some families emigrated, and the last Jews of Höchberg were murdered between 1941 and 1945.

The building served as a residence until 1993 and was renovated from 1995 onward. Today it houses two documentation rooms with a permanent exhibition: texts and photographs tell the story of the preparatory school and of its teachers and students, and shed light on the life of Höchberg's Jewish community. The museum is looked after by the Marktgemeinde (municipality); guided tours are offered for schools and groups.

Highlights

Permanent exhibition in two documentation rooms
History of the Israelitische Präparandenschule and its students
Life and fate of Höchberg's Jewish community
Free admission

Permanent exhibition

Lehrer, Sportler, Zeitungsgründer – Die Höchberger Juden und die Israelitische Präparandenschule – Two documentation rooms show, through texts and photographs, the history of the preparatory school, its teachers and students, and Höchberg's Jewish community.

Operated by: Markt Höchberg