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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The synagogue of Versailles, located at 10 Albert Joly Street, was built between 1884 and 1886 by architect Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe (1834–95). Inaugurated on September 22, 1886, it embodies a break with the traditional discretion of Jewish communities, proudly displaying its identity through a monumental facade decorated with a stone torah sefer. His neo-Roman style, mixed with Byzantine influences, reflects a will to assert in urban space.

The synagogue, originally of Ashkenazi rite, is today a sefarate rite, with a community mostly from Morocco. His atypical orientation (northward, without exposure to the sun) and his biblical inscriptions in Hebrew – like "You will love the Eternal" (Deuteronomy 11,1) – underline his sacred character. It remains active and visits at events like Heritage Days.

Nearby, the rabbi house houses a small oratory with stained glass visible from the street. In 2013, a stele commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Jewish Eclaireurs de France (EEIF). The adjacent Israelite cemetery, authorized by Louis XVI in 1788, is one of the few pre-revolutionary Jewish cemeteries in France, with about 400 graves on terraces.

The synagogue owes its existence to the philanthropist Cécile Furtado-Heine, whose two plaques (French and Hebrew) celebrate the contribution to its construction. Claude Lévi-Strauss' grandfather was a rabbi there. Classified as a historical monument in 2010, it illustrates the progressive integration of Jewish communities into the landscape of the Versailles.

The building maintains sober furniture, contrasting with the adjacent Renaissance Oratory, with an Alliance Arche and a golden wooden desk. The Gonard Cemetery also houses a Jewish square managed by La Terre Promise, a foresight society founded in 1854 to offer dignified burials to the poorest.

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