THE MEMORIAL BOOK OF PÁPA JEWRY - JewishGen

THE FIRST JEWISH SETTLERS IN PÁPA
According to Hungarian historical tradition, this Transdanubian settlement at the foot of
the Bakony hills beside the river, Tapolca, was founded during the reign of Stephen I, the first
king of Hungary. There is a legend about it: “King Stephen was travelling nearby together with
his parents, and for the first time called his father, Prince Géza, "PAPA" at this place, so the
happy parents decided to call it Pápa”.
According to another folk tradition, Abbot Astrik handed over the crown he brought from
Rome at this place, uttering the following words: the Pope [Pápa in Hungarian – the translator]
has sent the royal crown...
Many centuries passed by without a trace of Jews in Pápa.
The first mention is dated from the end of the 17 th century: it is a document found in the
Sopron municipal archives, containing the register of Jews who delivered brandy to Sopron in
1698 and paid duty on it to the municipal treasury. Among others, it says:
JAKOB HIRSCHEL VON PÁPA
"1 emer Brantwein – 1 Fl". (Probably means 1 Fl duty paid for 1 emer of Branntwein (=brandy).
The Győr archives also contain a relic from Pápa. In a letter from December 14, 1714,
regimental judge Lutzenkuchen informed the Municipal Court of Buda that the Jew Hirschel was
not obligated to appear in front of the Municipal Court in the suit cited, because at the time the
contract was made the above-mentioned Jew was an exciseman in Pápa under the authority of the
landowner, the general Count Ferenc Eszterházy.
Thus the yellowed pages from the Győr archives testify that Jews lived in Papa already
258 years ago. Where, then, were the ancestors of those who carried out the ghettoization, driving
the later descendants to their deaths?
A note dated from February 12, 1743, found in the Sopron archives, is also relevant:
Gábor Dávid, a Jew from Lakompak appeared in front of the Municipal Court of Sopron
and stated that he had made a contract with Márton Hirschel of Pápa about acting as a middleman
for the latter to obtain 50 lats [old measure weighing half an ounce – the translator] of silver in
return for a fee of one groat after each lat of silver. After the delivery of silver, the customer
refused to pay the agreed fee.
Hirschel Jew of Pápa said that he had bought the silver for the manufacture of knives, but
the delivered silver was of inferior quality so he could not use it for the job. The court accepted
the defence, declaring the business null and void.
This note in the Sopron archives proves that there were Jewish silversmiths living in Pápa
23 years ago.
However, there are records about other members of the Hirschel family as well.
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