During centuries of religious persecution, Provence was a destination for Jewish communities.
Even today, Provence retains many traces of Jewish communities. An opportunity to discover the Jewish heritage of Provence.
During centuries of religious persecution, Provence was a destination for Jewish communities. Even today, Provence retains many traces of this history. From Marseille to the Contado Venassin, architectural evidence and cultural vestiges tell of a rich and tumultuous past. Here are the stops to discover the Jewish heritage of Provence.
MARSEILLE
In Marseille, on Rue Breteuil is Grand Temple, the oldest Jewish house of worship in the city. Inaugurated in 1864, this Roman-Byzantine-style synagogue was built to the design of architect Nathan Salomon. Then, take time to visit the Extermination Camps Memorial, at the foot of Fort Saint-Jean. Since its inauguration in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the camps, it has been attached to the Museum of History and pays tribute to Marseille, a city of refuge in the unoccupied zone. Then join Trets, another important Provençal land that is home to Jewish communities. Through rue Paul-Bert, you enter the old Jewish quarter, Carreria Jusatarie. It houses a mysterious medieval vestige: an emblematic facade that appears to be that of an ancient synagogue.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE
In Aix-en-Provence, the Camp des Milles memorial site pays tribute to the painful history of Jewish communities. During World War II, the site was a detention camp before deportation to the Auschwitz death camps. Many artists and intellectuals were interned at Camp des Milles: Otto Meyerhof, Nobel laureate in medicine, or the pianist-composer Erich Itor Kahn. Transmission and education are now at the heart of the site’s vocation: there are educational workshops and thematic paths open to all.
About ten kilometers away, continue to discover the Jewish heritage of Provence in Aix-en-Provence, in the Darius Milhaud Center. You can participate in tours, documentary screenings or reading workshops.
TARASCONA
Direction Tarascona. From rue du château to rue des Halles, the imprint of the presence of Jewish peoples in medieval times is very marked, particularly by the restoration of houses with gray facades. On leaving the town, a stop near the Saint-Gabriel chapel reveals a plaque written in Hebrew from 1196.
SAINT-RÉMY-DE-PROVENCE
In Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, the Jewish cemetery built in the early 15th century still holds sixty graves that testify to the presence of the Jewish community.
ARLES
In Arles, the journey continues to Rue Dr Fanton, located in the old medieval Jewish center, and then to the Museon Arlaten, a place of Jewish folk memory. The departmental museum of Arles Antique houses carved funerary stones depicting Abraham.
CONTADO VENASSINO
We continue into the Contado Venassino, a historic region of France.
In Carpentras, capital of the Contado Venassino, is the oldest synagogue in France still in operation. Built in 1367, it is now listed as a Historic Monument.
Not far away, the Avignon Synagogue-also listed as a Historic Monument-was rebuilt after a fire in 1846. Its magnificent rotunda, supported by white columns, is reminiscent of Greek temples (no guided tour to respect the place of prayer).
In Cavaillon, the synagogue houses the Comtadin Jewish Museum and is a valuable showcase for local art. Several guided tour circuits have been set up in this building with its unique architectural form. Only a turret remains from the Middle Ages as its two overlapping volumes visible today date from its reconstruction between 1772 and 1774.