Wijk bij Duurstede
A number of Jews settled in Wijk bij Duurstede by early in the 18th century. One hundred years later, the Jewish population of Wijk bij Duurstede had grown to the point that a synagogue was built on the Volderstraat. The Volderstraat synagogue was consecrated during or prior to 1808.
Front of the former synagogue in Volderstraat in Wijk bij Duurstede
By the early-19th century, two Jewish cemeteries were in use in Wijk bij Duurstede, one in the Steenstraat and another located near Langs de Wal, the bulwark at the end of the Volderstraat. During the 19th century, most of the Jews in Wijk bij Duurstede worked as craftsmen, vendors, and shopkeepers. There was also a Jewish butcher in the town.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the Jewish population of Wijk bij Duurstede had declined to the point that the local Jewish community was dissolved and merged into that at Utrecht in 1923. The local synagogue was sold and eventually was rebuilt as a private residence. Today, the only reminder of the building's original function is a stone set in its façade dated 1808 and inscribed with the names of the synagogue's founders
Today, the two Jewish cemeteries at Wijk bij Duurstede are maintained by the local authorities. In 1998, plaque inscribed with a poem commemorating local Jews murdered during the Second World War was mounted on the wall of the cemetery at Langs de Wal. A plaque on a farmhouse near Wijkersloot commemorates the fact that Jews were hidden at the site during the War.
The Jewish population of Wijk bij Duurstede and surroundings:
The size of the Jewish community over time
1809
46
1840
50
1869
37
1899
24
