An indispensable part of every Jewish community is the "mikveh" (German Jews usually spelt it Mikwe), which is a bath for dipping. The basin of the mikveh must contain "natural, live water", and the bathing in this water serves the purpose of a ritual cleansing and immersion in Judaism. Such ritual cleansing applies both to persons and objects alike; it is also used in the process of preparing meals. Women must go to the mikveh after each monthly period, also before their wedding, and after giving birth. Men, as well, do use the mikveh: before their wedding ceremony, but also to cleanse themselves from impurity before a ritual, and before officially converting to Judaism. Kitchen utensils which are considered as unclean, especially, if they were in contact with both milk and meat, must be immersed in the mikveh's waters, and in this way purified.
The mikveh right by the Danube on Holzländestraße is located within a private residence going far back to the Middle Ages. The mikveh, however, was only erected here in 1773 and was already abandoned as early as 1837, when building activities in the neighbourhood had lowered the groundwater level to such a degree that made bathing a health hazard. The mikveh was backfilled, and it was only excavated once again by the archaeologists in the 1990s, with the consent and active support of the current homeowners.
