The town 's oldest church was built in the 10th century on the spot where now stands the '' Marktkirche '' ( “ Market Church ” ) Already by the Middle Ages , there were Jews living in Eschwege ( first reference in 1301 ) . In the persecution arising in the time of the Black Death , the Jewish community was wiped out . In 1457 , a '' Judengasse '' ( “ Jews ’ Lane ” ) was mentioned , and from 1507 comes mention of the '' vicus iudaicus '' . The '' Judengasse '' lay in the town centre between '' Kohlenmarkt '' and '' Neuer Steinweg '' . In 1580 , 30 Jewish inhabitants were counted in town . By the mid 18th century , this had risen to 171 ( 4.9 % of the whole population ) . The families earned their livelihood at first almost exclusively from livestock trading and goods trading ( textiles ) . In the 19th century , however , many Jewish trading , business and industrial operations arose , which earned great importance to the town 's economic life . Even in public life , the Jewish inhabitants readily took part . The community belonged to the Lower Hesse ( Kassel ) Rabbinate Region , although it had its own district rabbinate . The Jewish population peaked in 1885 , when there were 549 . As early as 1838 , a synagogue had been dedicated . Its interior was utterly destroyed on Kristallnacht ( 9 November 1938 ) . Since 1954 , the former synagogue has served as Eschwege 's New Apostolic church
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Eschwege