La Synagogue

After the return of the Jews in 1798 - there were no Jewish families in Mulhouse since the beginning of the 16th century - the Jewish cult was celebrated in various places of prayer which soon became too small. A new synagogue built by J-B Schacre was inaugurated in 1849. The architect played on the difference in proportion and materials: there is thus a disproportion between a high and wide nave with slender bays and narrow and very low aisles with stocky openings; inside, the nave is covered with white plaster, while the aisles are made of pink sandstone. The gable wall overlooking the Rue des Rabbins is the most ornate part of the building: on the triangular pediment, the law tables surmounted by an oculus are flanked by seven-branch candlesticks, the menorahs, carried by twin pilasters. Both the interior and exterior display an orientalist style that was widespread enough for synagogues built in the mid-19th century.