One of only two synagogues in Alsace from before The Napoleonic Era

Tucked away in Alsace in the extreme eastern part of France near the German frontier, the small town of Pfaffenhoffen, population about 2,500, was once home to a tiny Jewish community. The town’s only synagogue, resembling from the outside little more than a modest two-story home, dates from the year 1791.

The Pfaffenhoffen synagogue is one of only two remaining in Alsace that date from the very end of the Ancien Regime era, having been constructed right around the time of the French Revolution. The other synagogue, dating to 1787, is located in Mutzig. On the entry level, the synagogue’s simple, wood-floored interior has one large meeting room, the Kahlstube. A trapdoor in the floor opens to a stone stairway leading to a basement that at one time may have contained the mikveh. Behind the Kahlstube are two other small rooms. One, the “Schalfstaedt,” was used to accommodate travelers while the other served as the kitchen. The ground floor also features a stone fountain with a Hebrew inscription dating the fountain to 1744.

The second story has two rooms, the larger one being for the men. The most colorful element in the room, the polychrome ark is located in a recess on the eastern side of synagogue’s interior. Two golden lions crown the ark and Hebrew lettering reads: “Know who you are standing in front of” and “The eternal is always in front of me.” Just above the ark there is a small stained glass window, or oculus. This served the purpose of indicating the time of day and when to begin Shabbat or other religious observances.

The Pfaffenhofen Synagogue, in its minimalism, represents a good example of rural synagogues for this period in France. The Jewish history of this area dates back as early as the 14th Century. In 1700, there were only three Jewish families in the town but it slowly grew to 16 families, about 74 people, by 1784. One of them, Zacharias Meyer, became the leader of the town’s merchant corporation that same year. Pfaffenhofen’s Jewish population peaked at 136 in 1808 and stabilized for most of the 19th Century before beginning a gradual decline. The last Jews left or were expelled with the Nazi invasion of France in 1940.

Today the synagogue serves as a heritage center, restored by a few community volunteers intent on preserving this aspect of their town’s history.

For more information see http://www.wmf.org/project/pfaffenhofen-synagogue