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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Toul synagogue, built around 1812 on the remains of Saint-Amand Church and its cemetery, embodies the history of the local Jewish community. At that time, Toul had about 500 Israelite members out of 7,500 inhabitants. The building, rebuilt under the Second Empire by architect Fisson, adopted a Moorish style and was inaugurated on October 18, 1862. Its dark facade, facing north-west, bears a Hebrew inscription from Isaiah 56.7: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples", shared with the synagogue of Bayonne.

Behind the synagogue, a hidden courtyard houses the ancient Hebrew school of 1869, preceded by a classified porch. The site, owned by the Israeli Cultural Association (ICA) of Toul, is now abandoned: the Jewish community has been reduced, the synagogue is no longer used, and the rabbi's house has been transformed into housing. The gate, wired and locked, marks the state of progressive decay of the building, the only witness with the synagogue of Nancy and the synagogue of Lunaville of the historical Jewish presence in Meurthe-et-Moselle.

Classified as a historical monument since February 27, 1996, with its annexes (grill, gate, school and portico), the Toul synagogue retains heritage value despite its decline. The adjacent Jewish cemetery, partially destroyed by the municipality without warning the Consistory, remains partly on Rue de Briffoux, along the railway. Its 19th century tombstones, bilingual (French and Hebrew), recall the centuries-old anchoring of this community, now almost erased.

The history of this place is also marked by tensions, such as the partial destruction of the cemetery without consultation. The writer Michel Kessler poetically evokes this site in Josephine, describing the Jewish tombs bordered by the train, where "the dead [...] make us signs by gently swinging." This heritage, both religious and memorial, illustrates the demographic and cultural changes of Lorraine in the 19th century.

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