The Jewish cemetery in Horb

The cemetery is situated in the Neckar valley between Horb and Mühlen.
The cemetery is situated in the Neckar valley between Horb and Mühlen.

The cemetery in Horb is the youngest of six Jewish cemeteries in the larger district of Horb. It contains 75 graves, including double graves. The first funeral took place in 1904, the last in 1952.

In 1903, the Jewish community bought the site on the border to Mühlen from the town corporation and set up a cemetery there. It is somewhat above the road to Mühlen on the left side. A small mortuary near the entrance was presumably destroyed in 1938. Slabs bearing the names were smashed, tombstones knocked over and stolen from the cemetery.

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Photo of the cemetery in 1933. The mortuary chapel is still standing.

Today the cemetery is owned by the Israelite Religious Community of Württemberg. The town of Horb is responsible for care and maintenance. In 2003, a memorial stone was erected in the cemetery for the Jewish community and those who were murdered.

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Memorial stone bearing the names of those murdered.

In contrast to the much older cemeteries in the wider district of Horb, little sandstone is to be found here. In keeping with the taste of the day, unornamented granite stones predominate, often in the form of an obelisk or stele. The double graves for married couples are remarkable since they are seldom found elsewhere.

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Regine and Lippmann Stern. Lippmann Stern, a successful businessman in Horb, was the founder of Sterns’ Clothing Factory. His wife died the day after her husband’s death.
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Bona and Josef Rosenfeld. Dr. Josef Rosenfeld, Health Councillor, was a general practitioner in Horb. He also attended patients in the surrounding communities, travelling in his coach.
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Rosa and Louis Schwarz. Louis Schwarz, a cattle-dealer from Rexingen, let one storey of his house to the Jewish community as a Prayer Room.

It is remarkable that almost all those buried here came from the surrounding rural communities but were not born in Horb.