Jewish cemetery The cemetery on Lütticher Straße, which has existed since 1822, is the most important architectural testimony to Aachen's Jewish community.
© J.Reiche
One of the main tasks of the inventory at the City of Aachen's Monument Authority is to revise the often inadequate older monument registrations.
Recently, the registration of the Jewish cemetery, which has been listed as an architectural monument since 2001, was specified. Established in 1822, it was initially located far outside the town. As the synagogue was destroyed in 1938, it is the most important architectural testimony to Aachen's Jewish community, which was very important until the Shoah of the Nazi era.
The initially very small cemetery has been extended many times. It is the burial place of many important Aachen personalities, including some of the most important manufacturers. The 1,400 graves marked by stones reflect Jewish burial regulations, but also the increasing social integration of Jewish fellow citizens and, not least, the individual self-confidence of the deceased. Many of the gravestones, which range from classicism to modernism, have artistic significance. The last graves from 1942 could only be identified by tin signs before the remaining Aachen Jews were deported and murdered.
Fortunately, the Jewish community of Aachen was quickly re-established after the war, so that the cemetery is now also a testimony to active Jewish life in our city. It is regularly open and can therefore be visited.
Thanks to a project completed by Aachen University of Applied Sciences in 2022, the cemetery and its gravesites have been thoroughly researched. The urgently needed major restoration work has recently begun. In the process, it was discovered that the expressionist painting of the mourning hall from 1928 is still present under the current plaster. So we can be excited.