About
The Jewish Community in Baden, Switzerland
Baden is a town in the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is situated on the left bank of the river Limmat, 25 km. NW of Zurich. Approximate population: 17,000. From the 15th to the 18th century Baden the most important city of Aargau was the seat of Switzerland’s parliament, Aargau being the first conquest of the Confederates.
Baden is popular for its hot sulphur springs, which are mentioned by Tacitus (Histories i. chap. 7) and were very fashionable in the 15th and 16th centuries. Hence the name Baden, which in German means bathing. The springs are especially effective in cases of gout and rheumatic pains. The town, surrounded by vast forests and many walking trails is most stunning and picturesque. The ruins of ancient castles nestled among Baden’s hills, the city’s steep and narrow streets, its old wooden bridge with its one remaining entrance gateway and its museums make it a must on any tourist’s itinerary.
Since the early thirteenth century Jews had lived in Basel and Zurich: Jewish financing, for instance, made it possible for Basel’s bishops to buy Kleinbasel outright in the 1220s and to build the first Rhine bridge shortly afterwards. On January 16, 1349, the Basel government decided to pack the town’s Jews into a wooden house on an island in the Rhine and burn it to the ground. Those who escaped were expelled six months later when plague arrived, accused of poisoning the city’s water supply. Jews were allowed back to the city after the 1356 earthquake in order to finance rebuilding work, but in 1397 they were again expelled, this time for good. They took refuge in the Baden countryside, namely in the townships of Lengnau and Endingen, where Jewish life in Switzerland was concentrated for more than four centuries.
In 1805, a Jewish community was refounded in Basel, but it was only in 1874, after extreme pressure was brought to bear by the US and France, that Switzerland finally guaranteed full religious and civil rights to all religious denominations in its constitution, one of the last European states to do so. In 1859, the first Jewish inhabitants of Baden founded an important Jewish Culture Community. It became the driving force of Jewish community life. Prayer and religious instruction, women association and relief for the needy, even a cone club were part of it. Until 1873 the rented prayer hall was located in the “Berner Haus” and from then up to 1913, in the Ball hall of “Kaufhaus Schlossberg”.
In 1879, a piece of land was bought by the community to serve as a Jewish Cemetery. Additional land has been added since. In the year 1910 when the new owner of “Kaufhaus Schlossberg” decided to raise the rent, the community decided to put into action its plan for building its own Synagogue. However, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe decided to rent their own place on Restaurant Krone’s first floor. In September 1913, the then modern Synagogue on Parkstrasse built by Architects Dorer and Fuechslin was opened. It still stands today with its separate areas and entrances for men and women and serves as the only center for Jewish life in Baden.
Today, we are an open community with orthodox tradition. Our prayers are held in the Ashkenasic rite. Our community has a Minyan Friday evenings and Shabbat mornings and on Jewish Holidays, besides special occasions such as Jahrzeit, Bar Mitzva, Brit Milah etc… The Shabbat Morning Prayer is followed by a Kiddush enhancing the community’s “family” atmosphere.
Our community provides rabbinical services, Torah and Hebrew weekly studies for all ages and levels. Diverse activities that touch the Jewish mind, heart and soul are also organized. Our social hall caters to various occasions such as conferences, lectures, celebrations etc…
Further articles on the history of our community can be found at the alemannia-judaica website through the following links: