In January 2020, the application to include the SchUM sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List was submitted to UNESCO in Paris. The comprehensive document is now also available in German. The review for completeness and questions from UNESCO experts are currently underway.

The numerous stakeholders involved in the nomination process are working with unwavering enthusiasm on the scholarly justification for the nomination and on presenting the preservation, accessibility, and interpretation of the medieval Jewish monuments of the former SchUM communities.

For example, final coordination is taking place among the three cities as well as with the Jewish Community, which owns the sites in Worms and Mainz.

In Worms, an exhibition opened in September 2020 at the Raschi House as a satellite to the major project “The Emperors and the Pillars of Power” at the Landesmuseum Mainz. There is also a special section dedicated to the SchUM that visitors can explore.

The state capital of Mainz has initiated a design competition for the Old Jewish Cemetery; the results are expected to lead to the construction of a visitor pavilion and greater visibility for the entire cemetery grounds.

The so-called SchUM communities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz are set to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their exceptional Jewish heritage.

Since 2012, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has been preparing the nomination in collaboration with the participating municipalities and representatives of the Jewish communities.

The basis for this was a cooperation agreement that the partners signed even before the official submission of the nomination documents to the Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) on August 1, 2012. It forms the basis for future cooperation and joint tasks associated with the World Heritage application. 

On behalf of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Minister President Kurt Beck signed the cooperation agreement. On behalf of the participating municipalities, the mayors of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz—Hansjörg Eger, Michael Kissel, and Michael Ebling—signed the agreement. Representing the Jewish communities, the chairman of the State Association of Jewish Communities of Rhineland-Palatinate, Dr. Peter Waldmann; the chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Mainz, Stella Schindler-Siegreich; and the executive director of the Jewish Community of the Rhine Palatinate, Daniel Nemirovsky, signed the agreement. The ceremonial signing was also attended by Rhineland-Palatinate’s Minister of Culture, Doris Ahnen, and the state’s World Heritage Commissioner, State Secretary Walter Schumacher.

The cooperation agreement was a first formal step to be followed by concrete measures. For example, the partners intend to coordinate and implement future tasks related to the World Heritage nomination through a joint association. Among other things, the association will be responsible for preparing the application documents, as well as for public relations and the development of tourism in the SchUM cities.

In July 2014, the SchUM congregations founded the association “SchUM Cities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz.” Through this initiative, the SchUM cities aim to highlight the unique Jewish heritage of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz even more prominently and raise its profile both nationally and internationally. The goal is to restore Jewish culture to the significance it held for centuries.

On July 21, 2014, at the State Chancellery in Mainz, Minister President Malu Dreyer, the mayors of the three cities, and representatives of the Jewish communities signed the association’s bylaws on behalf of the founding members: namely the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, the three participating cities, the State Association of Jewish Communities, and the Jewish communities of Mainz-Worms and the Rhine Palatinate.

The application submitted by the SchUM communities has since risen to one of the top spots on the German tentative list for an upcoming selection round of new UNESCO World Heritage sites.

By 2020, the current, still preliminary application is to be developed into a detailed and comprehensive proposal for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. This will require, among other things, more extensive scholarly preparatory work.

In this video, Dr. Susanne Urban, Executive Director of SchUM-Städte e.V., explains why Judaism and wine are closely linked and what unique characteristics make the three SchUM cities ideal candidates for the UNESCO World Heritage List.