Площа Юденплац Judenplatz Square

Rating 8110

During the Middle Ages, this square was the center of Jewish life in Vienna. Today, its central part is the Holocaust Memorial, created by sculptor Rachel Whiteridge. In the other part of the square is a monument to the German playwright Lessing. It was destroyed by the Germans during the Anschluss of Austria.

The most beautiful building of the square (in my opinion) is the palace of the Bohemian court chancellery, the facade, roof and entrance portal of which are richly decorated with sculptures, stucco and gilding. In one of the houses is a museum of Judaism. In its basement - excavations of an ancient synagogue.

A medieval plaque commemorating the Jewish pogrom in Vienna in 1421 has been preserved on Jordan's house. It reads: “Because of the floods in the Jordan, the bodies were cleansed of dirt and evil. Everything that is hidden and sinful recedes. In 1421, a flame of hatred broke out that engulfed the entire city and atoned for the horrific crimes of the Jewish dogs.
During the erection of the Holocaust memorial at Judenplatz, there were proposals to remove the anti-Semitic inscription, but the Vienna authorities decided to leave it as a warning to future generations.