Erfurt Treasure
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The Erfurt Treasure is a hoard of coins, goldsmith's work and jewelry that belonged to a Jewish family, who secreted them hastily in Erfurt during the time of the Black Death. The pieces were never recovered until they were found in 1998, quite by accident.
An exhibition, "Trésors de la Peste Noire", at the Musée National du Moyen Âge in the Hôtel de Cluny, Paris, April-September 2007 brought them together with the Colmar Treasure, equally testament to the prosperity of the Jewish community in the Middle Ages, and its precariousness, open to persecution in times of danger and want. The outstanding piece is the gold wedding ring with a bezel composed of openwork Gothic tracery, capped by a facetted steeple.
Similar treasures were hidden in times of acute distress for the Jewish community at Weissenfels, Lingenfeld, Münster and Sroda Slaska.