Synagogue de la Paix

A first synagogue on quai Kléber for Strasbourg’s Jewish community

With the increase in German immigration after 1871, Strasbourg’s Jewish community saw its numbers grow considerably. A neo-Romanesque synagogue was built on quai Kléber, its architecture in keeping with its surroundings and large enough to take in 1600 worshippers. On 12 September 1940, however, it was burnt down and then blown up by the Nazis and the only trace of it that remains is a metal plaque.

Construction of a new synagogue in Strasbourg in 1954

Strasbourg’s Jewish community slowly started to grow after the end of the war and it was decided that a new synagogue should be built. Work began in 1954 on the synagogue de la Paix (synagogue of Peace, designed by architect Claude Meyer-Lévy) and it was officially opened on 23 March 1958.

The new synagogue is of decidedly modern design and built of concrete on a basilica-type floorplan. The exterior is decorated with ironwork, including the front, which is entirely covered with stars of David. The Holy Ark, candelabras and pulpit are also made of iron. The curtain covering the Ark is an Aubusson tapestry, made from a tapestry cartoon by Jean Lurçat

Extension of the synagogue in the 2000s.

Strasbourg’s is an Ashkenazi synagogue which can taking up to 1650 worshippers. It also features several oratories, a community centre and meeting rooms. The synagogue was extended and reorganised in the 2000s to include a new Rambam Sephardi synagogue and the Grand-Rabbin-Max-Warschawski cultural centre and a number of Jewish youth associations in the old community court.