Police are investigating a fire that devastated the former synagogue in the village of Maizières-lès-Vic in France earlier this month, the night of August 2-3.
Pictures showed the building after the fire, without a roof.
Local media quoted the local mayor as saying he suspected arson, as the building did not have electricity so a short circuit could be ruled out.
Built between 1868 and 1872, the tiny rural synagogue had not been used for religious purposes for more than a century and for decades had served as a barn and storage space for a local poultry farmer.
It conserved some of the original fittings, however — including the carved Ark niche and a Hebrew inscription over the door — but had a garage-type entrance with metal door cut into the facade.
Click here to read a history of the building