Ingolstadt

INGOLSTADT, city in Bavaria, Germany. Jews probably went to Ingolstadt when they were expelled from *Munich (1285) and Eichstaett (1298), but they were first mentioned there in 1312, when they were given permission to collect their debts. In 1322 the community, comprising 30 persons, maintained a synagogue and came under the jurisdiction of *Regensburg, making use of the cemetery there. It suffered during the *Black Death persecutions (1349) and was impoverished by the abolition of debts to Jews. Four families were accorded the right of domicile in 1358. In 1373 the Jews were allowed to attend Ingolstadt's fairs but they were forced to flee to *Nuremberg after the anti-Jewish riots of 1384; the synagogue was converted into a church. In 1450, after complaints about usury, those who had returned earlier were arrested and ordered to leave, along with the rest of Bavarian Jewry. Four hundred years later, Jews still required entrance permits, valid for one day only. After emancipation (1851, 1867), the number of Jews increased from 60 in 1880 to 90 in 1900. A synagogue was built in 1872, and a cemetery consecrated in 1891, but the population drifted to larger towns and by January 1939 no Jews remained. The synagogue was renovated in 1947; in 1968 there were 17 Jews living in Ingolstadt.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.