Alte Jüdische Schule

Alte Jüdische Schule stands in Petershagen’s old town as part of a historic Jewish ensemble. The half-timbered building stands beside a synagogue and mikveh, with a cemetery and residential houses nearby.

Built in 1796, the school accommodated up to 24 pupils in its classroom. A teacher’s room and a Jewish ritual bath formed part of the building. Classes continued here until 1916, linking the building directly to Jewish community life in Petershagen. After the synagogue was desecrated during the 1938 pogrom, the school was sold in 1939 and used for various purposes until the 1990s. Petershagen acquired and renovated it in 1998, restoring a place that had gradually fallen into obscurity.

The ensemble now supports a memorial and documentation centre for Jewish local and regional history. Permanent and temporary exhibitions, cultural events and volunteer work keep the history of the extinguished community visible. The synagogue’s destroyed interior remains a powerful reminder of the violence that transformed this quiet group of buildings.