Historic mikvah to be displayed at Holland museum

By JTA

article created on: 2011-09-15T00:00:00

A mikvah uncovered during construction will be restored this week in the Limburgs Museum in Venlo, Netherlands, the same city in which it was uncovered several years ago.

The mikvah dates to the 13th century, more than 300 years before it was believed that the first significant Jewish community in Holland was created by Jews who fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal, during the late 16th century.

According to archeologists, the mikvah was in use for several decades before it was put to other uses. It is believed that the Jews were driven out of the area in the wake of a deathly plague.

The mikvah, weighing approximately 180 tons, will be placed in a newly constructed wing of the museum created especially for the purpose of displaying the mikvah and educating about it and Judaism, according to the Rabbinical Centre of Europe.