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Origin and history

The Mutzig synagogue, built in 1787 on the initiative of Aaron Meyer, general servant of the Jewish nation in Alsace, is one of the oldest in the Lower Rhine. It served as a seat for the Rabbinate until 1915 and housed the Beth Din (rabbinic court) of the Jews of the Bishopric of Strasbourg in the 18th century. Its architecture, sober and close to bourgeois houses, is distinguished by high columns and windows, with an interior division between the holy arch in the east and the women's rostrum in the west.

A complaint for vandalism filed in 1694 suggests the existence of an earlier synagogue, although not attested. The current building, confiscated during the Revolution and then restored, was in operation until 1939. The women's gallery became an oratory for a very small Jewish community. Its western portico, with ten columns of sandstone, and its Hebrew inscription on the lintel bear witness to its heritage.

Classified as an additional inventory of historical monuments in 1984, the synagogue illustrates the Alsatian Jewish heritage. Its facades, roofs and fence walls are protected. The site also preserves neo-classical architectural traces, such as the frame of the Aron (holy arch), partially degraded. Today, the building belongs to an association and remains a symbol of the historical Jewish presence in Alsace.

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