Koenigstein, Germany

Königstein Hesse-Nassau, Germany. In 1301, ten Jewish families are mentioned in Königstein. Jews lived in the town in the 15th century but ultimately left for Frankfurt. Centuries later, Jews again came to live in Königstein and contributed to its development as a health resort. Numbering 60 (4% of the total) in 1871, they opened a sanatorium and dedicated a synagogue in 1906. Baron Wilhelm Karl von Rothschild (1828-1901) maintained a palatial residence on 100 acres of land to which the crowned heads of Europe were invited. Of the 73 Jews living in Königstein in 1933, 50 had emigrated by November 1938. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was burned down and Jewish homes were also vandalized in neighboring Kronberg. At least 24 members of the community were deported in 1942.