The area of today's Neupfarrplatz (New Parish Square) pretty much corresponds to the Jewish quarters of the Middle Ages documented for the first time in the year 1020 - First traces of Jewish population in Regensburg in 981-. Here stood the synagogue, the mikveh, the highly acclaimed "yeshiva" (Talmud Torah school), the rabbinical court, the Jewish hospital, the butcher’s shop, the communal fountain, the house used for weddings, the "Judenstadel"- a big warehouse storing goods for the long-distance trade of the merchants-, and finally, about 40  large residential buildings in which about 500 members of the Jewish community lived, plus 80 students of the yeshiva.

After the death of the emperor Maximilian I., the city council voted to drive out the Jewish community on February 21, 1519. For the prevention of their return, both the synagogue, and all other official buildings, including almost all the large residential buildings, were destroyed.

The months between the summer of 1995 and early 1997 saw large-scale archaeological excavations in the whole area – and many almost perfectly preserved basements, in both the Romanesque and Gothic style, were dug out and meticulously documented. The most spectacular find was the complete layout of the synagogue destroyed in 1519.

In 2004 the renowned Israeli sculptor Dani Karavan inaugurated the memorial to commemorate the synagogue and its history. "A place for lingering and relaxing, a place for chatting, singing, reciting poems or meditating. Children will be welcome to play on the walls." – these were the hopes stated by Dani Karavan. The memorial lives up to those expectations, as it can be observed daily on site.