Both Brandeck, in his 1927 history of Stühlingen, and Rosenthal, in his history of the Baden Jews published the same year, place the Jews in the south corner of the town.1 Although today the location is still called “Jews’ Corner” (Juden Winkel), I have been unable to find any title records in the various archives that accurately document who lived where. Some civic landmarks help in orientation (see fig. 13). The town hall (A) still stands today in the middle of the old town. The treasury (B) and gaol (C) no longer serve their original function. An “Old Catholic” congregation has taken over the town church (D) from the original “Roman-Catholic” one. The two inns, Adler (E) and Krone (F), are still recognizable. The Balbach house, once home of Stühlingen's foremost family, is marked by a plaque, and the fountains in front of the town hall and in Jews’ Corner still stand.
Only a narrow facade is visible of the house (5) in the apex of Jews’ Corner. According to popular belief, it was once the rabbi's house. The substantial building (4) on its northeastern side once displayed a prominent barn door, still visible on Rosenthal's snapshot.2 It is the reputed site of the original Stühlingen synagogue. Jews resided in houses on either flank of this corner. I have been told that a mezuzah was found during the renovation of one of these buildings, but I was unable to discover any details.
The Stühlingen records cast some light on the seventeeth- and eighteenth-century house owners, but the nature of the records hinders proceeding in chronological order. Jewish homeownership all hinges on a record of May 29, 1723:
Marum Weyl changes his house in the Jews’ Lane, between Mayr Bloch and the Adler Inn, for the Krone Inn with barn, stable,forecourt [Baulege], an orchard, and a vegetable garden, a washhouse, and the inn equipment, and pays 400 fl. compensation. [R3055]
Right away we see that Marum Sandel's son moved from house 1 to F, a much more substantial abode. Mayr Bloch lived to the north of Marum's original home. The expression "Baulege" proves difficult to interpret, as it is not listed in any modern German dictionary, not even in the authoritative 1854 Deutsches Wörterbuch by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm.3 Given that Stühlingen is close to the Swiss border, the term Baulege may have Alemannic origins, and indeed, the online version of the Swiss Idiotikon contains the word "Bulegi" (the forecourt of a house to park cart and horses),4 the most likely modern equivalent for "Baulege".
Marum Weyl’s old home did not go to waste, for on July 24, 1724 the following was recorded:“Jonas Gugenheimb buys a house next to Meyer Bloch” [R755]. Jonas ben Judah Gugenheimb, therefore, now lived in the house (1) previously occupied by Marum. Two years later, on March 6, 1726, there was notice of the neighbouring house 3:
Kehla Gugenhaimb, widow of Mausche Bloch, assisted by her son-in-law Jesaias Schach of Dornach, sells her half house, above the house of the buyer´s father and between the houses of Jonas Gugenheimb and Joseph Gugenheimb, called Alt Jossel, to Mencke Bloch, who is assisted by his father Mayer Bloch, and in the presence of Marum Weyl. The seller owes some money to the children of her late son-in-law Salomon in Hagenthal/Alsace. [R804]
The registered owner of house 3 in 1726 was Joseph ben Meir Gugenheimb (G1.3.3). What happened next to house 3? On February 23, 1730 we read:
Meyer Bloch, here representing his stepson Raphael Gugenheimb in Endingen, sells Faistel Gugenheimb, as a representative of his son Meyer Gugenheimb, a house between the house of Meyer Bloch and the barn of Sir Steward [Burgvogt] Megglin, with a forecourt [Baulege] in front and a vegetable garden behind the house, for 280 fl. cash, besides a man´s and a woman´s seat in the synagogue [It is uncertain whether these seats formed part of the sale or part of the payment]. [R4971]
We learn from the records that house 4 was no longer a synagogue but a barn belonging to castle-steward Megglin. The story of house 2 is complicated; the 1726 sale reveals that house 2 had in fact been subdivided. Mausche Bloch and his wife owned the upper apartment, while Mayer Bloch owned the lower. Since the houses on the eastern flank of the Jews’ Corner have been accounted for, the Bickerts and Weyls must have lived mainly on its southern flank.
Not all Jews lived necessarily in the Jews’ Corner. When Marum ben Samuel the Fat moved permanently from Donaueschingen to Stühlingen in 1730, he wanted a more upscale address in what was probably house 9:
Johann Beringer, alderman, representing mayor Hans Faller, sells Marum Weyl, protected Jew in Stühlingen and Donaueschingen, the house above the lower well with barn, stable, all belongings, and a forecourt [Baulege], bordering at top to Johannes Schelderle, at bottom to the Church Lane near the schoolhouse, at front to the main lane [Hauptgaß] at the well, at rear to the small lane towards the town church [hinten an das Gäßle gegen der Stadtkirchen], plus a vegetable garden yonder the Upper Gate, bordering to the road to Eberfingen [etc.], for 937 fl. After this sale was agreed, Frantz Anthoni Faller, a son of the seller, has applied for the right of first emption, which has been granted him by the district office. Appeal was filed to the Fürstenberg-Stühlingen government, but before a sentence was made, the two parties have made an agreement whose background is hidden to the court, whereas Frantz Anthoni Faller refrained from his right and Marum Weyl has, upon interposition of bailiff Frantz Anthoni Michels, paid Faller 200 fl. for such a renunciation and 15 fl. "discretion" for the wife; so the sale was made for 1152 fl., which Marum Weyl paid cash on the spot. [R4970]
Apparently, real-estate transactions did not always proceed smoothly. A final sale in 1745 reveals a somewhat unusual location for the residence of Faistel Guggenheim (G1.4.1.1):
Sebastian Krettler, representing Faistel Guggenheim, sells shoemaker Frantz Joseph Mayer a house located between government counsellor von Michael and Jacob Schelle, tailor, plus a forecourt [Baulege] on one side of the lane and a toilet [Secret] and outlet into the garden of Sir von Balbach. In addition, half a stable and a hay store [Heulege] upon it, at the rear bordering to the stable of the chaplain, below the top [Oberten] of Christoph Krettler, plus a forecourt [Baulege] five feet wide between said chaplain and the forecourt [Baulege] of Christoph Krettler. The access and exit go through the stable of the chaplain. In addition, a large vegetable garden towards the lower dye pit [Farb] near to baker Martin Schiele. The sale goes for 700 fl. [R3448]
The description of this property best fits house 11, both because the Balbach gardens were on the north side of the town, and the chaplain could have been expected to live close to his church.
Along the rear lane, Jewish and gentile houses also did not seem to be clearly separated:
Marx Mayer Eliasen Sohn [M1.2.2], represented by Jacob Stadler, sells Sylvester Bamus half a house, namely the upper heatable room, two chambers nearby, a kitchen and a small kitchen chamber, a corner for the wood, the rear part of the attic in the direction of Josel´s house, plus the rear part of the small attic towards this house, half of the stable in the direction of Rudolph Würth´s barn, with the forecourt [Baulege], from which the dung is to be carried away during the times of haying and harvest so one can carry crops, hay, and second silage [Öhmd] into said barn. Furthermore, half of the stable, the rear part of the forge [Schmitte], half of the basement with all pertaining items, on the condition that every owner is to maintain his part in good condition, while the rest will be repaired in common. The price is 275 fl. [R3452]
This record shows that in some homes comfort must have been very basic, with only one heated room and several unheated chambers and attic. Disposal of dung and feces seems to have been another bone of contention [R2260].
When the eviction became law in the spring of 1743 and the Jews had to leave, three Jews, namely, Chaim (Faistel) ben Judah [R3563] and his son Mayer ben Chaim Gugenheim [R3564] – both moving to Hechingen – and Mordechai (Marx) ben Elias Meyer [R3565] managed to sell their houses on the open market. The others had to await the collective fire sales ordained by the authorities in 1745, 1747, 1749, 1752, 1755, and 1759. In 1745 Salomon Weyl [R1222] and his father Marum, Sandel's son [R3451], had their houses sold; they had both moved to Gailingen. Isac ben Abraham Bickert, who had moved to Worblingen, had two houses sold [R3446, R3447]. Faistel Gugenheim had another house sold [R3448], and Joseph (Lang Jossel) ben Samuel (G1.2.1.4.1) had two houses sold [R3449, R3450]. Another house of Marx Meyer (M1.2.2) was sold. Multiple houses sold for the same person probably included houses occupied by married children or parents.
In 1747 the houses of Marum (Dicker) ben Samuel Weyl who had moved to Lengnau were sold, as well as the house that had belonged to Abraham Bloch, whose children were living in Endingen, and that of Schmuli Weyl.
In 1749 the house of Haymann Bickert living in Lengnau and that of Jonas Weyl (R1.1.2.1), who had moved to Randegg, were sold. In 1752 another house of Jonas Weyl in Randegg was sold. In 1753 Salomon Weyl (either Marumb Sandel's or Marum Dicker's son), living in Ettenheim, had his house sold, and in 1759 Marum ben Seligmann Gugenheim's house was finally sold.5 All sales were based on an initial down payment with interest-free installments over several years.
By 1745 Stühlingen was judenrein (free of Jews), with only a legend remaining.
Footnotes -> List of References
1Brandeck, "Geschichte der Stadt", p. 89; Rosenthal, "Heimatgeschichte der badischen Juden," p. 166.
2Rosenthal, "Heimatgeschichte der badischen Juden," p. 167.
3span>Grimm et al., "Deutsches Wörterbuch."
4Schweizerisches Idiotikon, s.v. Bulegi.
5This name cannot be attributed.
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