Ehem. jüdisches Bad "Mikwe"

The former Jewish ritual bath in Hohenems stands beside the 1820s schoolhouse in the old Jewish quarter, a quiet courtyard in the town centre. The single-storey stone building with its low hipped roof looks like a gardener’s shed, yet it holds one of Austria’s oldest surviving mikva’ot. Built in 1828–29 by master builder Josef Ammann, the structure replaced an earlier bath under the synagogue after repeated leaks made repairs too costly. The mikveh’s value lies in its rare completeness and the records that show how it worked. Groundwater was pumped up and mixed with heated water to reach the exact temperature and depth required by Jewish law. Women of the community paid a few kreuzer each visit, a price similar to that of the nearby sulphur spa. For decades the bath remained in use until falling ground water ended its ritual life; later it served as a cobbler’s shop and storeroom before being restored in 2009. Inside, visitors find the small barrel-vaulted chamber with its 1.8-metre square stone pool still lined to waist height. Two high rectangular windows and the original door frame of sandstone let in light over the plain whitewashed walls. The restored building now belongs to the Jewish Museum and is opened on guided tours, though the pool itself is kept closed for conservation. Outside, the cobbled lane and surrounding protected quarter recall the centuries when Christian and Jewish neighbours lived side by side in Hohenems.