At its 45th session on 17 September, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the Jewish-Medieval Heritage on the World Heritage List.

In the largely intact historic old town of Erfurt, unique architectural evidence of the important Jewish community from the period between the end of the 11^th and the middle of the 14th century has been preserved. These include the Old Synagogue, one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved medieval synagogues, the mikveh, which was first built in the 12^th century, and a Jewish secular building from the 12^th and 13^th centuries, the so-called „Stone House“.As the central objects of the Erfurt application, the architectural evidence is supplemented by a wealth of material evidence such as gravestones, manuscripts and the „Erfurt Treasure“, which is unique worldwide. In their combination, the testimonies fulfil all the elements that are necessary to express the extraordinary universal value.

The objects in their entirety provide information about Jewish community and everyday life as well as the coexistence of Jews and Christians in medieval sites – in a complexity that is not comparable to any known site. They reflect the cohabitation of Jews and Christians between coexistence, persecution and expulsion in a medieval city in Europe. The city of Erfurt sees its UNESCO application as an acknowledgement of Germany‘s special historical responsibility to recall and permanently honour Europe‘s Jewish-Christian roots. Sites that focus on Judaism and its history are under-represented on the World Heritage List, especially when it comes to European Jewry.