After 1861 – Forchheim’s Jewish community expands

As industrialization progressed, the population of Forchheim increased markedly. This was accompanied by a growth of the Jewish population. While the Bavarian Jewish Edict of 1813 permitted the residency of only 20 Jewish families within the town, the abolishment of this requirement in 1861 allowed them to choose where they wanted to live. Jewish families from villages in the neighbourhood such as Weilersbach, Wiesenthau, Kunreuth, Ermreuth and Gunzendorf settled in the town and took up employment there. For example, Moses Bauer a cattle dealer from Ermreuth moved with his family to the house at Marktplatz 5 while the neighbouring house at Vogelstraße 1 belonged to Max Bayreuther a cattle dealer from Kunreuth.

In 1880 there were 212 Jewish residents in Forchheim; that was 4.8% of the population. In the following period while the population of the town continued to grow the number of Jewish residents fell continuously. Jewish children in Forchheim attended the Catholic schools. Boys and girls were, however, taught in separate buildings.