Germany receives two new world heritage sites. For the first time, Unesco honored Jewish cultural assets in Germany, with the coveted title going to the so-called ShUM sites Mainz, Worms and Speyer as the cradle of European Jewry. The world heritage sites include the old cemeteries in Mainz and Worms, the Worms synagogue and the Speyer Judenhof with its medieval ritual bath.
The Lower Germanic Limes as part of the border of the ancient Roman Empire was also classified as a new world heritage site. The 400-kilometer-long Lower Germanic Limes with its forts and legionary camps runs along the Rhine. The responsible committee of the UN Organization for Education, Science, Culture and Communication (Unesco) made the decision on Tuesday at its meeting in Fuzhou, China.
The “ShUM” sites are the first Jewish world heritage on German soil. In the Middle Ages, the Jews from the three cities on the Rhine united to form the Federation of “ShUM” communities, which got its name from the first letters of the Hebrew city names of Speyer (Schpira), Worms (Warmaisa) and Mainz (Magenza). The “ShUM” communities are considered to be the cradle of Central European Jewish culture.
After the spa towns of Baden-Baden, Bad Ems and Bad Kissingen, together with eight other European baths and the Mathildenhöhe artist colony in Darmstadt, were awarded at the weekend, a total of four German sites have been added to the list in the current meeting.