At today’s Pfahlplätzchen, the former Judenhof, there were not only Jewish houses, but also the first Bamberg synagogue, a Jewish school and the Judentanzhaus, which served the Jewish community for family celebrations and social occasions. This is first mentioned in sources in the 13th century. At the beginning of the 15th century there were still 35 Jewish households living in the Judenhof, which were mainly active as money lenders for the clergy, the nobility and rich citizens.
By the middle of the century, however, the mood had tipped and there was an increasingly anti-Jewish atmosphere in the city. So in 1431 the church decided to confiscate the Judentanzhaus and to convert it into a residence for the Cathedral Vicar. With the expulsion edict of 1478, the Jewish history of Bamberg finally experienced a clear break. In the Jewish district, instead of the synagogue a Marienkapelle (Mary Chapel) was built and the houses became property of the Christian citizens. The former Judentanzhaus, on the other hand, changed hands several times and has been known since 1604 as the “House of Crab”. Today only the name of the adjoining Judenstraße reminds of the former inhabitants of this urban area.
