The Lengnau mikveh: simple, yet steeped in tradition

At first glance, it is inconspicuous, resembling a quiet garden shed. Yet the Lengnau mikveh was once a core component of everyday religious life – a place of ritual purification, and exclusively for women.

The compact building, with floor space of about 35 square meters and a distinctive pitched roof, quietly speaks to this day of a living tradition.

From ritual bath to storage room to tourist attraction

Until 1923, the Lengnau mikveh served its original purpose as a ritual women’s bath. Three pools were once in use: two for water preparation, and one for actual ritual purification. Admission cost between 15 and 75 rappen – varying with visitors’ income. Back then, this was not a small sum. Revenue was used to cover the caretaker’s salary, heating costs and lighting.

After 1923, the mikveh’s significance slowly faded away. The small building was used as a storage room and a simple shed.

A window to the past

Before the mikveh was carefully restored in 2014, the Aargau canton’s archaeology department carefully examined the building. Excavations uncovered exciting details about the original water supply: a bathing stove heated the water, which flowed through pipes into the 1.27-meter-deep plunge pool, where it was adjusted to a comfortable temperature.

The mikveh has been a registered protected landmark since 2015 and was acquired in 2024 by the Doppeltür Foundation. Water may no longer flow through it, but it continues to bear witness to everyday Jewish life in past centuries.