Unterbergstrasse 6
Tel. (02682) 65145
Open: May- Oct: 10am- 5pm Tue- Sun
Nov- May 9am- 4pm Mon- Thu, 9am- 1pm Fri
The Jewish Museum is located in the Wertheimer
House, a historic building named after the Hungarian rabbi Samson
Wertheimer (1658-1724). The decision to found a Jewish museum in
Eisenstadt was made in 1969 at the forum of the Institute for Jewish
Studies at the University of Vienna. The museum was opened three
years later, in 1972.
The Jewish Museum is located on an area
of almost 1000 square meters and is divided into several
exhibition halls.
While visiting the museum, you can see the
private synagogue located on the ground floor of the building. This
small synagogue is one of the few that was not damaged during
Kristallnacht (or Night of Broken Glass) in November 1938. This was
the first such large-scale attack by the Nazis on Jews. That night
there was a massive wave of Jewish pogroms in the territory of the
Third Reich, 267 synagogues were destroyed, 91 Jews were killed,
hundreds were injured and maimed, thousands were humiliated and
insulted, more than 30 thousand were sent to concentration camps.
Also, the museum offers to get acquainted with its permanent
exhibition, which gives a comprehensive overview of Jewish life and
the history of Jews in Burgenland. At the end of the exhibit is an
impressive memorial hall dedicated to the seven prominent Jewish
communities of Burgenland.
Also, the museum has a library
that contains over 10,000 volumes. Some of the books are in the
permanent exhibition of the museum, mainly books from the 18th
century. In addition, the library has a large collection of
facsimile editions of famous books. The valuable collection of
Yiddish books deserves special attention.
The museum is
located in the Unterstadt (Lower City) district, where about 3,000
Jews expelled from Vienna have settled since 1670. There are two old
Jewish cemeteries not far from the museum.