LAUDENBACH, Unterfr: 63925 Bavaria, Lower Franconia (Gerz, Peters).
DISTRICT: Main-Spessart.
LOCATION OF CEMETERY:
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Coming from Frankfurt a.Main (A) take a right at church in Hauptstrasse Laudenbach (B), direction "Schützenhaus". From there about 200 yds to cemetery entry (Detail).
IN USE: From 1665 until (last funeral) January 1941.
NUMBER OF GRAVESTONES: Approx. 2350 gravestones.
DOCUMENTATION:
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Numerous individual gravestone photographs and general cemetery views in Alemannia Judaica.
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Jüdische Friedhöfe in Bayern publ. Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst - click on Friedhöfe A-Z and
PUBLICATIONS:
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Israel Schwierz: Steinerne Zeugnisse jüdischen Lebens in Bayern - refer to Sources below.
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Michael Trüger: Der jüdische Friedhof in Laudenbach, Unterfranken, publ. Der Landesverband der Israelitischen. Kultusgemeinden in Bayern - click on Friedhöfe and Laudenbach.
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Baruch Z. Ophir and Falk Wiesemann: Die juedischen Gemeinden in Bayern 1918-1945 : Geschichte und Zerstoerung with 9 maps, 511 pages, publ..R. Oldenbourg, Munich 1979 (LBI).
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Leonhard Scherg: Juedisches Leben im Main-Spessart-Kreis : Orte, Schauplaetze, Spuren publ. Medien and Dialog, Haigerloch, 2000, illustr. 50 pages.
NOTES:
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This cemetery served up to 14 surrounding Jewish communities including those of Adelsberg, Hessdorf, Lohr, Urspringen, Gössenheim, Veitshoechheim and Laudenbach, whose names were recorded in the local land registry as communal owners. This is the 2nd largest Jewish cemetery in Lower Franconia.
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The first recorded desecration of the cemetery took place in 1865, when numerous gravestones were uprooted and several graves dug up. In 1945, towards the end of WW2, nearby land battles caused severe damage to the cemetery. Repair and restoration work was carried out in 1947 by the local population on the orders of the occupying American forces.
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A stone wall surrounding the cemetery was built in 1873/74. The wall includes 1 main iron gate and three timber gates. Cemetery extensions took place in 1850, possibly also in 1874, in 1900/05 and finally in 1930. A substantial half-timbered mortuary is located immediately adjoining the main entrance. This building has 2 similarly sized rooms, connected by a passage whilst each room has separate access doors.
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The cemetery is now maintained in excellent condition. Local contact and additional information (in German): Georg Schnabel
SOURCE: Alemannia Judaica and Schwierz, pages 90/92 (Schwierz LBI).
(Researched and translated from German April 2010).