GORINCHEM – The municipal Archaeology Working Group last week excavated a Jewish ritual bath in the city centre of Gorinchem. “We were pleasantly surprised by the find,” admitted employee Martin Veen. In the meantime, the working group is consulting with project developer ING Vastgoed and the architectural firm to see how the ritual bath can be preserved for the city. At the location, there are Nursery Street New houses are planned, construction of which is scheduled to begin this week.
Mikveh synagogue Gorinchem
The Working Group does not care in what form the ritual bath is preserved. “If necessary, they will fill the bath with sand again. The most important thing is that it is not destroyed during the construction of the houses,” Veen, 38, believed. The Working Group and other institutions encourage the architectural firm to come up with something 'creative', so that the find remains visible to the naked eye.
In the meantime, the Gorinchem City Center Interest Group (BGG) and the Dijksynagogue Foundation also advocated for the preservation of the pool. According to Ruth de Jong, board member of BGG, this is a unique find. “We went there right away. And we immediately wrote letters to the city council, the architect and the project developer,” says De Jong. According to De Jong, this is the chance to give something back to the Jewish community. “The synagogue was demolished in the fifties. There was nothing left of it. We believe that we should do everything we can to save the pool,” the Gorinchem resident thought.
The Jewish synagogue was located at the Nursery Street. The bathing place was located at the back of the synagogue and was used for ritual cleansing. “For example, the women had to immerse themselves in the bath after each menstruation,” Veen said. In addition, the bride used the bath shortly before her wedding day.
The City of Gorinchem
February 29, 2000