UNESCO names Erfurt’s medieval Jewish buildings in Germany as a World Heritage Site

BERLIN (AP) — A U.N. committee has named a group of medieval Jewish sites in the eastern German city of Erfurt as a World Heritage Site. It’s the second time Jewish heritage in Germany has been added to the list in recent years. Among the buildings is Erfurt’s Old Synagogue, a 13th-century stone building that illustrates Jewish family life in the medieval era, and a traditional ritual bath. The decision was made Sunday at a meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of UNESCO. Erfurt’s Jewish heritage sites had been largely forgotten until recently. After pogroms in the 14th century, the Old Synagogue was used as a storehouse and a restaurant. Its historical importance was only rediscovered and established in 1988.