GORINCHEM – Shortly before the soil investigation was completed, the municipal Archaeology Working Group visited the site of the former synagogue on the Nursery Street a Jewish ritual bath (mikveh) was found in Gorinchem. The discovery is, according to coordinator Martin Veen, not only remarkable, but also the crowning achievement of the work of the working group, which, after intensive research, has uncovered a large part of the former Jewish church building.
Mikveh synagogue Gorinchem
The synagogue was located in the centre of the city centre of Gorinchem from 1841 to 1958 and was the proud property of the Jewish community (kille), which was already active in Gorinchem in the fourteenth century. Despite the vandalism and demolition of the synagogue in the fifties, the mikveh still looks quite intact. The bath cellar, built in accordance with strict religious regulations, is an important part of a synagogue. At the wedding, the bride uses it shortly before the wedding day. The married woman is obliged to cleanse herself in the bath by immersion after each menstruation.
The mikveh was found at the back of the synagogue adjacent to the city theatre De Nieuwe Doelen. There used to be a small building that served as a consistory. In 1902, the bathing place was decommissioned and replaced by a new facility in an adjacent house. That building, which at the time also housed a small school, still exists, but there is no trace of a mikveh.
Veen, who has been working on the site daily with five to ten people in recent weeks, is particularly pleased with the results of these efforts. "We came across foundations and a sewer, which was actually full of household waste. We sieved the contents and that yielded a lot of shards of tableware." Veen and his people were also able to form an image of the eating habits of the former users of the building. "A lot of fish was eaten, especially large river fish such as pike, sturgeon, etc. We were able to determine that by the large heads." In the coming months, all finds will be further examined.
Veen does not know (yet) what will happen to the bath cellar that has now been discovered. “Of course we will do everything in our power to preserve it. Together with ING Vastgoed, the project developer that will start building shops in the foreseeable future, we are looking for a solution. One possibility could be to include the mikveh as a monument in the new construction. If that does not work, moving it elsewhere is another option.”
Frits Stout
Daily newspaper 'De Dordtenaar'
February 25, 2000