Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg is a city of
contrasts. The language is French, but the
architecture, food, and wine are overwhelmingly
German. Cities and towns all over Alsace have
German names and many streets are a French
German hybrid like rue Unter den Linden. Here
the clash of history is evident everywhere
you go as you recall that over the centuries
Alsace changed from French to German hands
and back again many times.
Strasbourg is also home to
some 16,000 Jews and it's a good starting
point for exploring the province's rich Jewish
history. Like Jews in other parts of France and the rest of Europe in the middle ages, the Jews of Alsace suffered
through expulsions, blood libel accusations,
and blame for the Black Death. They were driven
out of cities and towns, exploited by the
Christian aristocracy, forced to pay high
taxes, wear identity tags, and to get permission
to marry. Jewish children born out of wedlock
were forcibly baptized.
Alsace became part of France in 1648 with
the Treaty of Westphalia, but it was only
after the French Revolution that Jews were
granted civil rights.
Following emancipation Jews began to move
from small towns to larger cities, and Strasbourg,
which had a Jewish population of about one
hundred before the Revolution, grew to over
1,000 by the beginning of the nineteenth century.
It was during the first flower of emancipation,
that synagogues were built all over Alsace
- some 176 between 1791 and 1914 - and nearly
every town and village had one. It was a big
change from the fourteenth through eighteenth
centuries when synagogue construction was
banned.
Benjamin
of Tudela, the twelfth century Sephardic traveler who chronicled the Jewish world of
his day, tells us that Jews lived in Strasbourg
and in the rest of Alsace around 1170 C.E.
Today the Jewish community of Strasbourg retains
its predominantly Ashkenazi character, unlike most communities in France.
This vibrant community made a comeback from
the devastation of the German occupation and
the Shoah and is an integral part of life in the city.
Many of Strasbourg's Jews live in the area
around the main synagogue - a lovely and fashionable neighborhood around
the Parc des Contades. The imposing Synagogue
de la Paix, (1a rue du Grand Rabbin René
Hirschler) was built in 1958 to replace the
synagogue on the same spot that was destroyed
by the Germans during the Occupation. The
interior is equally impressive - a circular
sanctuary nestled beneath a Star
of David.
Take a walk through the heart of old Strasbourg.
There's plenty to see of Jewish interest.
Oddly enough, we'll start with a church.
To the left of the portal as you face Strasbourg's
Cathedral of Notre Dame are two statues -
Ecclesia and Synagoga, circa 1230. The one
on the left represents Christianity - a woman
adorned with a crown and wearing a flowing
gown. She holds a staff with a cross in one
hand and a chalice in the other, and grins
in triumph over her enemy. The one on the
right represents Judaism. Her garment is disheveled
and clings tightly to her body. Her staff
is broken and the tablets of the Law are about
to slip from her hand. As is typical of Ecclesia
and Synagoga, we do not see her face - her
head is bowed and she is blindfolded because
she cannot see the truth of Christianity.
Next to the Cathedral is the Musee de l'Oeuvre
Notre Dame. A chronicle of the arts in Strasbourg
and the Upper Rhine from the eleventh through
seventeenth centuries, you will also see some
Jewish tombstones from the twelfth through
fourteenth centuries in the museum courtyard.
They are originally from a cemetery at the
Place de la Republique.
The Rue des Juifs (Jew street) is the heart
of the old Jewish quarter and one of Strasbourg's
oldest streets. Over 1,600 years old, it was
the Roman east-west road. On the end of the
street furthest from the Cathedral, number
30, between rue des Pucelles and rue de la
Faisan, was the site of the twelfth century
synagogue; the community's bakery was at number
17, the Mikvah at the corner of rue des Charpentiers,
the butcher shop at 22 rue des Charpentiers
and the cemetery at the Place de la Republique.
Number 15 was constructed in 1290 and is
the only remaining building from this period
that was inhabited by a Jewish family. Beginning
in 1587, this section of the rue des Juifs
was known as Zum Judenbad (to the Jewish bath).
In the heart of the Jewish quarter, at 20,
rue des Charpentiers is a thirteenth century
Mikvah. Discovered during excavations in the
neighborhood, it is not yet completely restored
and in a fragile state.
On the other side of the River Ill at 23
Quai Saint Nicholas is the Musee Alsacien.
Here you will find two rooms devoted to Alsacien
Jewish objects along with a model shtiebel.
A short ride north by car or public transport
is the suburb of Bischheim. One of the most
important Jewish communities of France up
until the French Revolution, Jewish settlement
began here following the expulsion from Colmar
(in southern Alsace) in 1512.
At 17, rue Nationale is
the Cour de Boecklin and the home of David
Sintzheim, one of three rabbis who made up
France's first chief rabbinate following the
Revolution. Inside, the steep, sixteenth century
restored hollow staircase leads to a restored
mikveh. The room above depicts Jewish life
in Bischheim.
Sources: Reprinted by permission of the author
from Complete
Jewish Guides. |