The Heiliger Sand in Worms is the oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in Europe, with gravestones going back to the eleventh century. Weathered sandstone slabs lean at angles among the grass and trees, carved with Hebrew inscriptions, some barely legible after nearly a thousand years. Pebbles and small notes lie on many of them, left by visitors as a sign of remembrance, especially on the grave of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, a great scholar of the thirteenth century who died in captivity. Together with the synagogue and ritual bath of Worms and the Jewish sites of Speyer and Mainz, the cemetery forms the ShUM Sites, listed by UNESCO in 2021, recognising the Rhineland communities that shaped Ashkenazi Jewish culture in the Middle Ages.
The communities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz were centres of learning, attracting scholars from across Europe. The famous commentator Rashi studied in Worms, and a small chapel near the synagogue is named after him. Their history was also marked by persecution, including massacres during the Crusades and the destruction of the Nazi era, and the cemetery survived almost miraculously.
Worms has other stories too. In 1521 Martin Luther stood before the emperor at the Diet of Worms and refused to recant his writings, and a large monument to the Reformation stands in the town. The city is linked to the Nibelungenlied, the medieval epic of Siegfried and the treasure of the Nibelungs, with a museum devoted to it. The Romanesque cathedral of St Peter dominates the skyline, and the vineyards around the Liebfrauenkirche gave their name to Liebfraumilch, once a famous export wine.
The riding around Worms is flat along the Rhine, with busy roads and traffic, but interesting routes lie on both sides. To the west, the Pfälzerwald, a vast forest, and the German Wine Route offer twisty roads through vineyards and wooded hills, while to the east, across the river, the Odenwald provides more curves and climbs.
Worms has fuel, shops and restaurants. When visiting the cemetery, men should cover their heads, and it is closed on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Afterwards, sit with a glass of Rheinhessen wine and a plate of Saumagen, a stuffed pork belly dish from the Palatinate.