Judische Kulturgemeinde (Jewish Community Centre), Heidelberg

A Jewish community likely existed in Heidelberg as early as the 13th century, with a medieval synagogue once standing in the Old Town. In 1390, Elector Ruprecht II expelled the Jews and donated the synagogue, along with all Jewish houses and vineyards, to the recently founded University (1386). Jews only resettled in Heidelberg around 300 years later, and a new synagogue was ceremoniously inaugurated in 1878. However, it was burned down during the Kristallnacht pogrom on the night of November 9th to 10th, 1938, by the National Socialists. Two years later, approximately 280 Jewish citizens remaining in Heidelberg were deported to the Camp de Gurs internment camp, with over 80 dying there or in other camps in southern France. Between 1942 and 1944, an additional 100 people were deported to extermination camps in the East, where most were murdered shortly after arrival. Today, a memorial site with plaques bearing the names of the deported Jews commemorates these tragic events.

After the Second World War and the Holocaust, the re-established Jewish community in Heidelberg consisted of only a few individuals, including a handful of returnees and survivors from Eastern Europe. Starting in the late 1990s, Germany saw an influx of Jewish emigrants from the former Soviet Union, which caused the membership of the Jewish Community Centre in Heidelberg to approximately triple. Following several relocations within the city, the Centre found a permanent home with the inauguration of a new building in 1994.

Designed by Frankfurt architect Alfred Jacoby, the complex features an east-facing facade. The synagogue's round dome is decorated with the first ten Hebrew letters, symbolizing the Ten Commandments, while its interior is illuminated with blue light streaming through large windows designed by London glass artist Brian Clarke. The northern wing houses the kitchen, community office, social office, rabbi's office, youth center, library, sukkah for the Feast of Tabernacles, and, in the basement, a ritual immersion bath (mikvah) for women.

Today, the Jewish community in Heidelberg has over 400 members who actively participate in religious services and community life, offering synagogue tours for interested visitors upon registration.