The synagogue in Ingwiller, France celebrated its 200th anniversary last year — and this year a crowd-funding campaign has been launched to finance the restoration of its upper floor stained glass windows and recreate a crystal chandelier that disappeared during World War II.
In addition to seeking simple donations, the Friends of the Synagogue in Ingwiller Association is offering a specially designed watch for sale, with part of the proceeds going to the restoration.
According to the local Tourism Office, the watch has Hebrew letters instead of numbers — like the clock on the tower of the synagogue (which echoes that on the Jewish Town Hall in Prague) — and also has a silhouette of the synagogue etched on its back.
It said that the price of the watch, designed in cooperation with the Pierre Lannier watch company, is €119, of which €24 will be donated to the Friends of the Synagogue association.
For information about purchasing a watch, contact Michel Lévy, president of the Friends of the Synagogue Association at [email protected]. The last Jewish man living in Ingwiller and the custodian of the synagogue, Lévy founded the Association in 2009.
The synagogue was built in 1822 on the ruins of the 15th century castle of the Counts of Lichtenberg, which the Jewish community had acquired earlier.
The synagogue was ransacked by the Nazis during World War II. Though it was restored somewhat right after the war, for use by the small Jewish community, the Jewish community dwindled sharply over the next decades. The building fell into disuse and suffered severe damage from water infiltration and neglect.
A large-scale restoration of the synagogue was carried out in 2013-14, thanks to the efforts of the Friends of the Ingwiller Synagogue. The building is owned by the Jewish Consistory, but functions as a cultural and event site, for concerts, weddings, etc. It houses a small permanent exhibition about local Jewish history and heritage, and there are regular guided tours.
In 2013-14 the stained glass windows on the ground floor were restored by Mylène Billand, but those on the upper floor were simply left as clear glass.
“In order to complete and perfect the renovation of the Synagogue, the Friends of the Synagogue of Ingwiller association now wishes to renovate the stained glass windows on the first floor and re-install the chandelier, which disappeared during the War,” the Friends of the Synagogue Association says.