Jaunted

Among the most significant reasons to come to Worms is the history of its Jewish population. Though not the largest community in Germany by far, the Jews of Worms occupied an important center of learning and study that made it one of the most important Jewish academies in the world during the Middle Ages, and it was periodically persecuted and destroyed over the centuries.

The Jewish sights of Worms center around the reconstructed medieval synagogue, which lies on the Judengasse, or Jews’ Lane that was the main path of the ghetto, and dates from 1034, as you can see from the original, inscribed cornerstone. Next door, you’ll find the Raschi Haus Museum, named after a Talmudic scholar, that houses a small collection of religious artifacts and historical documents. The most breathtaking sight, however, is the old Jewish cemetery, also called the “Holy Sands,” just outside the medieval city walls about a mile away on the Lutherring.

With its oldest grave (that of Jacob Bahur) dating from 1076, it is the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in Europe (it mysteriously escaped destruction by the Nazis), and is the final resting place of many famous medieval rabbis and scholars. Pay your respects by placing a rock on one of the head stones and taking a moment at the ritual cleansing fountain outside the gate.

On your way between the synagogue and the cemetery, you’ll want to stroll down the shop-lined, pedestrianized Kammerstrasse. At the end of the walking zone, you have to cross a couple streets to get to the towering Romanesque St. Peter Dom (cathedral), where you can admire the enormous baroque altar, and wander into the beautifully decorated 14th-century St. Nicholas Chapel off to one side where the Diet of Worms excommunicated Martin Luther in 1521.

Before you head back to Frankfurt—because this is really just a daytrip and doesn’t require an overnight stay—stop at one of the cafes on the square around the St. Martinskirche church for a beer or a snack to take in everything you’ve seen, and to get some people-watching in before catching your return train.

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