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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The synagogue of Châlons-en-Champagne, built between 1874 and 1875 by architect Alexis Vagny, was inaugurated in September 1875. In Hispano-Mauresque style, it is distinguished by its facade decorated with a Hebrew verse from Psalm 84. Located at 21 rue Lochet, it is still active and was listed at the Historic Monuments in May 2024, including its fence. Nearby, a Protestant temple of 1880 completes this 19th century religious landscape.

The Jewish presence in Châlons dates back to at least the 11th century, with a school linked to the followers of Rachi. Expelled during the Hundred Years' War, the Jews returned after the French Revolution, reinforced by the arrival of Alsatians-Lorrains in 1870, then Jews from Central Europe and Blackfoot in the 1960s. A plaque commemorates the victims of the raid of 20 July 1942, the local equivalent of that of the Vel.

The synagogue houses annual ceremonies in memory of deportees and opens to the public during Heritage Days. The city also preserves traces of the past, such as an Israelite square at the East Cemetery, streets called "Petite Jewry" and "Jews", as well as an ancient Mikve and Hebrew manuscripts at the municipal library. These elements illustrate a thousand-year-old Jewish history, marked by waves of migration and community resilience.

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