Lyndon

Jews in Maarssen

In the seventeenth century, some Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam settled in Maarssen. Some of them were involved in the tobacco culture around Amersfoort, others tried in vain to set up a silk industry in its place.
Initially, the religious exercises took place in one of the country estates that the Portuguese Jews built along the Vecht. In 1720, the Portuguese synagogue Neveh Shalom was built in Maarssen, despite opposition from ecclesiastical circles. In 1749, a cemetery was purchased on private property in nearby Tienhoven, which was in use until the twentieth century.

The High German Jews settled on the other bank of the river Vecht in Maarsseveen. They initially held their services in a private house, but in 1759 they too received permission to build a synagogue on the Diependaalsedijk.

According to some traditions, at some point in the first half of the eighteenth century, the Jews formed a majority among the local inhabitants, without having equal rights.
The decline of the Portuguese community began in the middle of the eighteenth century and by 1839 it had effectively ceased to exist. In that year, the synagogue was sold and demolished. The decline of the High German congregation in Maarssen and Maarsseveen began in 1789, when the city of Utrecht had to open its gates to Jews. Finally, in 1923, the High German municipality was added to that of Utrecht. In 1927, the High German synagogue was also sold and demolished. Under the house, which was built on that spot a few years later, a mikvah was excavated in 2002. In a building on the Breedstraat there is a dome vault, possibly a remnant of a Portuguese house synagogue.

The cemetery in Tienhoven, known as the 'Jodenbosje', is in a very dilapidated state. In April 2004, Landschapsbeheer Utrecht proposed a plan for a thorough restoration.
In May 1999, a plaque was unveiled in the cemetery in nearby Kamerik in memory of two Jewish women in hiding who were arrested in that village.

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