Alsace is rich in Jewish history. In the village of Schirrhoffen, for example, in around 1850, the population of 650 included some 450 Jews. Today, there are over 200 specific sites (synagogues, ritual baths, cemeteries). Unfortunately, though, there are many that visitors cannot see because they are closed, abandoned, or located on private property. Thus, while the small town of Rouffach (in Haut-Rhin) may pride itself on the vestiges of a twelfth-century synagogue, all you will see is the refaced facade of a banal half-timbered house.

Elsewhere, the nineteenth-century village synagogues offer a remarkable architectural panorama. The reality of Jewish emancipation can be read in stone: one need only compare the discreet facade of the synagogue in  Hochfelden (Bas-Rhin), built in 1841, with that of the synagogue in  Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin), consecrated in 1904, whose two Rhenish-style domes rise proudly to the sky.

In recent years, tremendous efforts have been made to save Alsace’s Jewish heritage. Restored synagogues and new museums now form a fascinating and unique Jewish itinerary. The tourism development agency of Bas-Rhin , which is managing this program, published brochures and a calendar of events.

Alsace is not only one of the most emblematic places in European Jewish history. The presence of numerous sites marking this history is unique in such a small area. Nevertheless, given the upsurge in prejudice and anti-Semitic acts, there is an urgent need to ensure a link between this thousand-year-old history, the dynamism still very much alive in certain communities, and a peaceful future sharing of this heritage. A major project is in the process of being launched: that of registering the synagogues of Alsace as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We met one of the driving forces behind the project, Thierry Koch, President of the European Days of Jewish Culture – France.

Jguideeurope: How did the UNESCO World Heritage listing project come about?
Thierry Koch: The idea of listing Alsace’s synagogues as UNESCO World Heritage sites was first put forward in 2006(*). Since the first open house in the Bas-Rhin in 1996, there have been a number of initiatives, albeit mostly scattered, to study, preserve, and promote Alsace’s tangible and intangible Jewish heritage. The aims include raising awareness among owners, local authorities, and the general public of the future of a heritage threatened by the inevitable disappearance of Jewish communities that were once scattered across rural Alsace; protecting sites from the desecrations that have become more frequent since 2000; and documenting this heritage historically and scientifically. Faced with the risk of scattering our efforts and the ageing of our pioneers, we now need to move up a gear. How can we do this? Through a medium- and long-term project that mobilises and brings together all the energies and skills involved. On the other side of the Rhine, the UNESCO World Heritage listing obtained successively by the Jewish sites of SchUM (Speyer, Worms, Mainz) in 2021, then Erfurt in 2023, has shown the way. This is why the project to list the synagogues of Alsace as World Heritage Sites has been ‘pulled out of the drawers’. It has emerged as the ambitious project that meets the need. Its major asset is the exceptional density of the ‘collection’ of 80 synagogues in Alsace. This is unrivalled anywhere in Europe.
(*) : note from Mr Jean-Pierre Lambert

How are the municipal and regional authorities involved?
Over the past 25 years, the municipal, departmental (the two departments and now the Alsace European Collectivity) and regional (the Alsace Region and now the Grand-Est Region) authorities have supported many of the initiatives mentioned above. It is clear that these authorities will be called upon to play an essential role in the World Heritage listing project. Their presence will be crucial to the credibility of the project. Firstly, at the time of the national selection by the Ministry of Culture, and then when the project is presented and defended before the UNESCO selection committee. In addition, the local authorities will be called upon to provide part of the funding needed to develop the project and then build the infrastructure and facilities that will be required to obtain and later maintain the World Heritage label. The Grand-Est Region is already funding a post for the scientific inventory of synagogues in Alsace. Another example of what is already being done is the hosting of the associations of the Pôle du Judaïsme Rhénan in the Maison du Patrimoine, in the Hôtel des Joham de Mundolsheim, a 13th-century house located at 15 rue des Juifs, in the heart of Strasbourg’s old medieval Jewish quarter, a building entirely renovated by the CDC and donated to the City of Strasbourg.

What other institutions are involved?
From a legal point of view, in order to accommodate the municipal, departmental, and regional authorities, the project will probably be managed by a Public Interest Grouping (GIP). This structure will enable public bodies and associations to work together, not forgetting the two key players, the Consistoires Israélites du Bas-Rhin et du Haut-Rhin, which own a large proportion of the synagogues.
In order to be able to launch the project at the beginning of 2025, it was decided to start by creating an association under local law to bring together all the institutions other than the local authorities. This association is designed as a precursor to the future GIP.
The seven institutions that will form the local law association currently being set up are: the Consistoire Israélite du Bas-Rhin, the Consistoire Israélite du Haut-Rhin, the Maison du Judaïsme Rhénan, the Routes du Judaïsme Rhénan, the Société pour l’Etude du Judaïsme d’Alsace-Lorraine, the Association René Hirschler (which is a Strasbourg component of the Bnai Brith de France), JECPJ-France (European Days of Jewish Culture-France). Among these associations, particular mention should be made of the unifying role played by the Maison du Judaïsme Rhénan, chaired by Catherine Trautmann, former Mayor of Strasbourg and former Minister of Culture. It was this association that provided the physical framework for the project within the Strasbourg Heritage Centre.

Is this project particularly important at a time when anti-Semitic acts are soaring?
Yes, we think so. Inscribing the synagogues of Alsace on the World Heritage List is first and foremost a reminder of the very ancient presence of the Jews in this land of Alsace, and of the close links forged in the past in rural areas between the Jews and their Christian neighbours (Catholic or Protestant). Once the project has been completed, the synagogues of Alsace will become a source of pride for the whole of Alsace, so that the local population can really take ownership of Alsace’s Jewish heritage. Finally, the museographic and educational projects that will result from this labelling project will be tools available not only to tourists but also to the local population, particularly the younger generations, with a view to informing and educating them.