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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Maizières-lès-Vic synagogue, located in the Moselle department in the East, was built between 1868 and 1872 by architect Ferdinand Boudot, also author of the Phalsbourg synagogue. This project, funded by the Consistory of Nancy and state subsidies, took place as the rural Jewish community declined. Despite its inauguration in 1872, it closed in 1890, for lack of faithful, and was sold in 1911 to become a barn.

The building, marked by a facade decorated with a rosette and a portal with Hebrew inscription, housed an imposing holy arch in sandstone and wood, painted in false marble, with ionic pilasters. Although disused, it was classified as a Historic Monument in 2009 (for the arch) and in 2012 (in full), before being destroyed by fire in 2015. This place symbolized the rare persistence of a Jewish presence in Lorraine after medieval expulsions.

The interior also held a women's stand, typical of Ashkenazi synagogues, but the reading stage had disappeared. The synagogue thus illustrated the adaptation of rural communities to the demographic and cultural constraints of the 19th century, while at the same time showing Jewish religious architecture in non-urban areas. Its history reflects the changes in populations and cultural heritage in eastern France.

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