Document Neupfarrplatz
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ABOVE: A video presentation shows what archaeologists have learned Regensburg's  ancient Jewish quarter. The image above is a computer-generated recreation of the medieval synagogue.

INSET PHOTOS BELOW: Bronze Roman statuette of Mercury, 3rd Century A.D.; 14th Century ring with the seal of Regensburg's Jewish community. Both objects were found in the excavations, along with a large jar of gold coins.

What you'll see

You enter Document Neupfarrplatz via a staircase that leads to the excavations beneath the square. Here, you follow a series of paths and elevated walkways through the ruins of Roman and Jewish Regensburg.

In one section, you'll see the walls and brick floor of a building that was located on the Via Principalis, the main road of the Roman Camp known as Castra Regina. The house belonged to a high-ranking Roman officer who is believed to have owned a statuette of the god Mercury that was found in the dig (see photo at right).

Amid the ruins of the medieval Jewish quarter, you'll see foundations of two Jewish synagogues: one Romanesque, the other Gothic. Other ruins include cellars from some of the 39 houses and other buildings where Regensburg's Jews lived in peace for more than 500 years before they were expelled, their buildings were torn down, and a pilgrim's chapel (later replaced by the current Neupfarrkirche) was built next to the market square.

Allow time to watch the multimedia exhibit (see photo above), which uses computer-generated renderings to show what archaelogists believe the medieval ghetto looked like more than half a millennium ago. The narration is in German, but the visuals don't require translation.

Next page: Visitor information, Web links

Inset photos: Peter Ferstl. © Stadtarchiv Regensburg.

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