It is one of the oldest buildings in Vienna. The house “To the Great Jordan” at JudenPlatz 2. In the same spot where Austria is remembering the victims of Kristallnacht this Thursday, a plaque commemorates the murder of Jews.
From 1497 it reads: “Flumin Jordani Turguntur liebe malisch corpora cum sedit, quod lat omnes nefus. Sic Flamma Esergens Totem Furibunda Per Arbem 1421 Hebraeum Purgat Crimina Seva Canem. Deucalionis mundus purgatur ab undis sic iterum poenas igne furiente luit.” (“Through the flood of the Jordan, bodies were cleansed of filth and evil. All that is hidden and sinful gives way. Hence the flame of hatred in 1421 arose, there was an uproar throughout the city, and atonement was made for the terrible crimes of the Hebrew dogs. Just as the world was cleansed by the flood, so all punishments were fulfilled by the fierceness of fire.”
In 1497, the then inspector, George Jordan, renovated the house and erected a monument to himself with a coat of arms on the front, indicating his name through the motif of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. By this point the board read: “A(nn)o. The Jews were burned here in 1421.” Jörg Jordan then took over the house and replaced the old, lost plaque with the current inscription, which refers to the murderous expulsion of the Jews in 1421 and is Jews in Latin. Describes the murder as “cleansing out filth and evil.”
At a time when a commission is established for each street name, it seems incredible that disgusting writing on the house on Judenplatze is still tolerated by the city of Vienna. Moreover, this information is available to everyone, such as on Austrian sites.
