Two synagogues are among the 100 religious buildings in French small towns and villages to receive grants from France’s Heritage Foundation (Fondation du Patrimoine) announced last week.
Both the synagogue in Benfeld and the Old Synagogue Phalsbourg, both in the Grand Est region, received €50,000.
The total amount of the grants to all 100 sites was €6.6 million.
The 100 religious buildings selected are are mainly churches from various Christian denominations.
“They require major work, often urgently,” the Foundation said. “Of these 100 buildings, 61% are not protected as historical monuments, 55% are closed to the public or in danger, and nearly 50% are located in municipalities with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants.”
The sumptuously decorated synagogue in Benfeld, in Alsace near Strasbourg, was originally built in 1846. It was enlarged and restructured 30 years later, and an organ was installed in 1895 — a rare example of an organ in a synagogue in France.
The synagogue has been undergoing restoration for several years, and earlier this year these efforts received a €20,000 Sesame Prize from the Foundation. The funds are to be used to continue ongoing restoration work aimed at creating a cultural and Jewish language center in the building.
We posted in 2021 about the complex restoration of the synagogue, which is owned by the Bas Rhin Jewish Consistoire. The first phase of the restoration, which was begun in 2020, prioritized serious threats and damage from dry rot and humidity.
The synagogue in Phalsbourg was built in 1857, replacing an earlier building dating from 1772. It was listed as a Historic Monument in 1996.
There is no Jewish community anymore in Phalsbourg, and ownership of the synagogue was turned over to the city for a symbolic sum in 2001.
“Today, the synagogue as well as the rabbi’s house are seriously damaged,” the Foundation says. “The roof and the facade wall risk collapsing and water will infiltrate, causing the plaster to fall from the ceilings. Faced with this state of danger, the city is mobilizing to save the building.”
The plan is to turn the building into a music school and cultural venue
It is planned to transform the synagogue into an auditorium and create a modular stage space, while retaining certain original elements (holy ark, preaching pulpit and tribune). The stained glass windows on the facade must be restored, and the framework reinforced so as to keep the existing one. Finally, it is planned to enhance the courtyard which separates the synagogue from its outbuildings.
The Heritage Foundation was established in 1996 to mobilize action and raise funds to protect neglect ted built heritage around the country.
Click here to see the PDF announcement by the Foundation
Click here to see the list of grants and amounts, on Facebook
Click to see details of the restoration and plans in our 2021 post
PDF dossier from the Consistoire (in French) about the Benfeld synagogue and restoration project