Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1991-04-04

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The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
5erumg Columbus and Central Ohio
Jewish Community for Over 60 Years •
VOLUME 6ft«>
NUMBER 14
APRIL 4,1991
20NISAN5751
DEVOTED  TO   AMERICAN   AND   JEWISH   IDEALS «
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THE JEWISH TRAVELER
Basel — VrAere the Zionist dream came true
By Ruth Rovner
From the balcony of the
Three Kings Hotel, the view of
the Rhine River is dramatic.
The current flows swiftly, and
the water ripples and shim-.
mere in sunshine.
Ferryboats glide by, and
pedestrians walk across the
bridge that spans the river or
stroll along the peaceful walkways lining the riverbanks.
It was this river —almost
this yery scerte — that captivated Theodor Herzl when he
came to Basel to convene the
world's first Zionist Congress
InMW.
In fact, the famous photograph showing Herzl gazing at
the Rhine River was taken on
the balcony of room 126 of the
Three Kings Hotel, where
Herzl stayed during the congress. When the room is not
occupied, hotel staffers sometimes let guests look at the
room and stand on the balcony
as Herd did.
The chance to re-trace
Herd's steps — to visit the hotel where he stayed, to stand
by . the river where. he
dreamed of a Jewish state, to
see the Stadt Casino where the
first Zionist Congress was held
— makes Basel a special destination for the Jewish traveler, ■.•..."■■•
This Swiss city on the
Rhine, at the crossroads of
France, Germany and Swit
zerland, has still other attractions for the Jewish traveler.
Switzerland's only Jewish museum is here. So is the synagogue that is a national landmark, and an art museum
with Marc Chagall's striking
painting, "The Rabbi."
In fact, so impressive are
the Jewish highlights in Basel
that the local tourist office
even prepared a special
pamphlet for Jewish travelers, printed in Hebrew, English and German.
The Jewish Museum at
Komhausgasse 8 is where
much of the history of Basel's
Jewish community is preserved. As evidence of the
city's pride in this museum,
sevenal signs point the way for
visitors.
Outside the museum, fragments of ancient Jewish tombstones are on display. These
stones date back to the 13th
century, when the Jewish
community here was an important one, and Jews had full
rights and prospered.
Rut during the Black Death
of 1348, the Jews of Basel and
elsewhere were accused of
poisoning the wells and causing the dread disease. They
were taken to a nearby island
and burned at the stake and
from then on, excluded from
the city.
Full emancipation came in
1866. And well before the Zionist Congress, Jews of Basel
made their impact on European Jewish culture; Basel
became an important printing
center where many Hebrew
books were printed.
The visitor sees evidence of
this long history inside the
modest museum. Display
cases show ritual objects that
once belonged to the Jews of
nearby Alsacae and of the ancient Swiss communities of
Lengnau and Endingen. Also
on display are 16th century
books in Hebrew, which were
• printed in Basel, including an
early Hebrew Bible from 1546.
But for most visitors, the
most compelling displays are
those in the two cases devoted
to the Zionist Congresses held
in Basel.
The famous photograph of
Herzl gazing at the Rhine is on
display here. So is a first edition of Herd's Der Judgen-
staat, and a program for the
first Zionist Congress .held
Aug. 29-31 in 1897, with a
photograph of all the delegates to that congress.
The guestbook on a table in
filled with messages express-,
ing the delight of. visitors to
see all this, visitors from Alberta, Canada; Ames, Iowa;
Tel Aviv, Israel; Beverly
Hills Calif., and elsewhere.
"We get visitors from all
over the world," says Jenny
Fuchs, museum attendant.
She checks her records and
with typical Swiss precision,
comes up with exact numbers.
In. 1987, she says, a total of
4,700 people visited this museum.
It's a short walk from the
Jewish Museum to the Great
Synagogue of Basel. The massive corner building is a striking sight, with its two, large
Byzantine cupolas and its gold
spire pointing skyward.
Although it's obviously old,
its distinctive exterior looks
positively gleaming. That's
because of an extensive renovation which took almost two
years to complete. Old stones
were replaced, the copper cupolas refinished, the furniture
restored.
"It was very, very costly,"
says Jacqueline Bloch, a longtime Jewish resident of Basel
and staff member of the local
tourist office, who often takes
Jewish travelers on tours. But
the cost was well worth it, and
the Swiss Confederation provided one-third of the funds
needed to restore this national
treasure.
Around the comer from the
synagogue is Victor Gold-
schmidt's bookstore. The
modest exterior gives no hint
of the important books inside.
Ruth Rovner is a freelance
writer living in Philadelphia
and a frequent contributor of
travel columns to Jewish publications around the country.