Regensburg

A city of only 135,000, regensburg is the fourth largest city in Bavaria. It's medieval charm has been preserved despite the war years. Huge churches, narrow cobblestone streets, colorful shops - it was just beautiful. Today it houses some 30,000 students and lots of hi tech jobs, including tourism. We took a ship walking tour through town.
In the afternoon, Sylvia, our private tour guide, met us for a jewish walking tour. We visited the current synagogue and jewish cultural center. Of the 260 Jews who lived here before the war, only 15 returned. This was a vibrant community in the Middle Ages, and scholars studied at the local yeshiva. The ancient shul was destroyed in 1520 and today an empty space remains in the middle of the city. The beautiful shul, where the center now stands, was burned down on November 10, 1938 during kristalnacht.  Services are held in a smaller chapel. Today, of the 1000 members, 90% are from the FSU. We walked the streets to see the plaques embedded in the cobblestone. We learned an artist was doing this all over Europe (so far 50,000) to remember those taken from their homes. We visited Oskar schindlers home, after 1945. Also the home where slaves were brought from the flossberg labor camp to work to rebuild the train station in regensburg.  The tour gave us great insight into what life was, and is today.