I visited 3 out of 4 of the ShUM sites in May 2025 and was very impressed by my experiences. Prior to my visit I was tangentially aware of various elements of the history of Europe's Medieval Jews, but these sites really gave me an insight into a side of European history that I knew relatively little about. The sites were well set up for visitors and there is now the ShUM-App, which contains information in German and English for all of the sites. If you have heave headphones with you then you can use it as an audioguide, although I just read the text. The app also contains all of the important information about opening hours, entrance fees, and important customs all in one convenient place. I note that the Old Jewish Cemetery Mainz is not currently open to the public, which is why did not visit it.

 

Speyer Judenhof

This site is only a short walk from the cathedral, and is about a 20 minute walk from the train station. It consists of a small museum, the ruins of the old synagogue and the Mikveh. At the time of my visit, entrance costs €4.50 for an adult. The museum is quite small (compared to the one in Worms) and information is available in other languages including English if you ask at the desk. The ruins and the Mikveh are also relatively small and I was grateful for the app to get more information. Overall I spent a little over an hour here but really enjoyed it and certainly learned a lot.

 

Worms Cemetery

This is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe and (if you like walking around cemeteries) is a wonderful and peaceful place to wander around. It is around a 10 minute walk from the train station. The cemetery is not open on Saturdays, and male visitors are required to wear headgear - a cap or any other hat is sufficient. Aside from a couple of information boards at the entrance there is very little information available on site, although again I found that the app was an invaluable guide when actually in the cemetery. I spent around 40 minutes here and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Worms Synagogue

This site is located in the heart of the historic Jewish quarter of Worms, around a 15 minute walk from the cemetery and 10 minutes from the train station. The synagogue itself is very pleasant and has some interesting architectural quirks. Again the app was very useful for getting extra information as there are few information boards. Located behind the synagogue and within the boundary of the inscribed site is Raschi-Haus, which contains the Jewish museum and is well worth visiting. At the time of my visit it cost €2.50 for and adult and again there was a free booklet with English translations of literally every information board - I think that this museum was one of the highlights of my visit to the ShUM sites, especially for placing the sites into their historical perspective. Between the synagogue and the museum I spent around an hour here.