Official contract for regulating the economic status of the Jews of Alt-Ofen (Hungary). 18th century

Official contract for regulating the economic status of the Jews of Alt-Ofen (Hungary). 18th century

"Contract for the Jews" - an ancient handwritten document that determines the employment rights of the Jews of Alt Offen, and the manner in which they are allowed to trade with the members of the Christian community in the city. Alt-Ofen  - one of the three cities that make up the historical Budapest (now Óbuda), ink on paper. 18th century. German.

In ancient times, the settlement of Jews was prohibited in the entire area known as Alt-Ofen  (Óbuda in Hungarian). In 1712, Duchess Zichi invited the Jews to settle there, subject to an agreement of patronage, freedom of religion, settlement and trade conditions. To this end, in the first decades of the 18th century, official contracts were issued on behalf of the duchess to regulate the new status of the Jewish settlers. Before us a rare official document that states the various employment restrictions vis-à-vis the Christian community in the city, and the rights of the Jews of Alt-Ofen.

The arrangements with the first Jewish settlers led to a wave of immigration to Alt-Ofen, and in 1737 a synagogue was established there, and in a short time it had the largest Jewish community in Hungary! The rabbi of the community was Rabbi Moshe Mintz (died in 1831), who established a Beit Din Tzedek and a large yeshiva on the site, one of the grandest in European Jewish communities. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the community grew, and was finally destroyed in the holocaust of Hungarian Jews along with other Budapest communities. 

[2] Pages, scribe's writing, royal red ink seal, and rosette paper seal. stains. Good condition.