Jewish Community of St. Gallen

1268 For the first time a Jew named Simon is mentioned in St. Gallen

1292 Two houses in the “Judengass” (“Jewish Lane”), later known as “Hinter der Brotlaube” and today as “Hinterlauben,” are inhabited by Jews.

1349 During the persecution of Jews at the time of the Black Death, the Jews of the city of St. Gallen are burned to death.

1377 Jews are once again living in the city.

1380 The first Jews—a brother and sister—are granted citizenship of the city.

1411 Additional Jewish families move to Spisergasse and the Spisertor area.

1415 Because of the many occupational restrictions imposed on Jewish citizens, they earn their living mainly by lending money. It is reasonable to assume that a prayer room or synagogue existed during the Middle Ages, although none is documented in the historical sources.

1470 Jews are once again expelled from the city.

1527 The Jewish population increases slightly. Jews who die in St. Gallen are probably buried in Überlingen.

1756 Jews are once again permitted to trade at the city’s annual fairs, but remain subject to extremely strict regulations over the following decades.

1834 Twenty Jewish merchants from Hohenems regularly visit the city.

1850 The city authorities grant Jews living in St. Gallen the right of residence as weekly residents—provided that they apply for it. Many do so, including Jews from neighbouring Hohenems, southern Germany, Frankfurt and Berlin.

1852 The Jewish population numbers 63.

1860 The number of Jewish residents rises to 107.

1863 The Canton of St. Gallen grants Jews complete freedom of settlement. The weekly residents are now able to bring their families to the city. The Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (Jewish Religious Community) of St. Gallen is officially founded.

1866 The first prayer room is established in the courtyard of the “Zum Stein” building at Bohl.

The community has its own rabbi, Dr Hermann Engelbert. His successors are Dr Emil Schlesinger in 1900, Dr Lothar Rothschild in 1943, Hermann I. Schmelzer in 1968, Dr Tovia Ben-Chorin in 2015 and Dr Shlomo Tikochinski in 2022.

1867 The Jewish cemetery at Hagenbuch is established.

1869 The first burial takes place, together with the cemetery’s inauguration ceremony.

1881 The new synagogue on Frongartenstrasse, designed by the architects Chiodera and Tschudy and constructed by master builder Ludwig, is inaugurated.

1888 The Jewish population numbers 399. Increasing numbers of Eastern European Jews immigrate while fleeing pogroms.

1913 The Jewish cemetery is already full. A new cemetery is established as part of the Ostfriedhof cemetery at Kesselhalden.

1915 Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, the rabbi of Jaffa, lives in St. Gallen because of the war. He is accompanied by his wife and son and stays at the invitation of Avraham Kimchi and Moshe Weisbard.

1917 The Adass Jisroel community is founded as an association of Eastern European Jews.

1919 The synagogue of the Adass Jisroel community on Kapellenstrasse is inaugurated. It also includes a mikveh. The Sternbuch family settles in St. Gallen and leads the community.

1920 Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, more Jews immigrate from Eastern Europe. The Adass Jisroel community grows to approximately 550 members in 105 households.

St. Gallen now has a total of 1,017 Jewish residents.

The German-Jewish Israelitische Kultusgemeinde comprises approximately 300 households.

Around 50 pupils receive religious instruction. Community organisations include a women’s association, a charitable and burial society (Chevra Kadisha) and the Verein Erholung recreational association.

1939–1944 St. Gallen serves as a centre where Jewish refugee children are prepared for immigration to Palestine/Eretz Israel. During this period, Racha Sternbuch and Paul Ernst Grüninger carry out their rescue work.

1945 Hungarian Jews from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and 1,200 survivors from Theresienstadt receive initial humanitarian care in St. Gallen.

1952 The Adass Jisroel and Israelitische Kultusgemeinde communities merge.

1968 Rabbi Hermann Schmelzer and his wife, Rita, arrive in St. Gallen.

1993 The Grand Council of the Canton of St. Gallen recognises the community as a public-law corporation. It is renamed the Jewish Community of St. Gallen.

2005/2006 The synagogue is restored and ceremonially reopened. As the only synagogue in the Lake Constance region to have been preserved in its original condition, it attracts considerable attention.

2013 The Jewish Community of St. Gallen celebrates its 150th anniversary.

2015 Dr Tovia Ben-Chorin assumes the office of community rabbi.

2022 The death of Rabbi Ben-Chorin is widely mourned. Rabbi Shlomo Tikochinski succeeds him.

2023 A three-day Jewish and interreligious festival is held in St. Gallen.

References

Wandel und Beständigkeit – Jüdische Gemeinde St. Gallen 1863–2013
(Change and Continuity: The Jewish Community of St. Gallen, 1863–2013)

Hirschfeld, Strauss and Malinsky: Jüdisches Leben in St. Gallen 1803 bis 1953
(Jewish Life in St. Gallen from 1803 to 1953)