The appeal is being promoted by France’s Heritage Foundation (Fondation du Patrimoine), which dedicates a projet page for it on its web site.
The synagogue was built in 1897, to replace an earlier synagogue, and today it serves the community that joins Jews in Wolfisheim and the nearby villages of Eckbolsheim and Oberschaeffolsheim. The sandstone facade is divided into three parts, with a stained glass rose window above the central arched portal and small onion domes topping the two low, square side towers. There is also a rose window above the Ark.
Major restoration and repair work was carried out in the 2000s.
The Jewish community plans to begin work this fall on the stained glass windows, whic the Heritage Foundation describes as in “an alarming state of disrepair.”
The synagogues 360 web site has a panoramic view and other photos of the synagogue. It describes it as
… a relatively modest building […] recognizable for its stately, reddish colored masonry and its prominent onion domed towers.
Its arch shaped windows, in particular, and other features borrow heavily from a German architectural innovation of the mid 19th century know as Rundbogenstil. Characterized by round arches, this style has a more utilitarian emphasis, placing construction and planning ahead of ornamentation or other architectural flourishes. A rose window, topped by a triangular pediment and framed on either side by rectangular towers, completes the synagogue’s exterior.
Meanwhile, the interior features ornate chandeliers and a wooden balustrade running along a balcony supported by wood columns. A stained glass window, or oculus, helps to illuminate the interior above the ark while the ceiling is painted in a simple gold flower pattern. Floral motifs also accent the walls and ceilings throughout the main hall.
The synagogue hosted a lecture on the art of restoring stained glass, on August 9.
View images and a 360 degree panorama of the synagogue