13.9.12

Another synagogue



Normally, it should hardly have been possible for me to enter this synagogue. However I got the opportunity. (On a more official invitation, I visited another synagogue, the “Grande Synagogue” of Paris (see previous post)).

You may have understood that I now and then do some (unpaid) “guiding” in Paris through an organization called “Parisien d’un jour” (there is also a link on my sidebar), which is part of the Global Greeter Network, working worldwide. As "Greeters" we are volunteers and to call us guides is misleading; it’s more an issue of meeting between people, walking around areas which are not the usual tourist tracks, talk about local life in general… 
    
Recently I made such a walk with a family from Israel and they had expressed the wish to see some Jewish areas and landmarks in Paris, mainly in the Marais area (see previous posts here, here, here, here, here…). So when we passed in front of the Agoudas Hakehilos Synagogue they decided to visit it and I had the privilege to join them. We were welcomed with smiles.

This synagogue is for Parisians in general better known as the “Rue Pavée Synagogue” (Rue Pavée = the paved street; it was the first street in the area to be paved around 1450) and sometimes as the “Guimard Synagogue” as its Art Nouveau architect is Hector Guimard, the same who created the metro entrances and a number of buildings in Paris (see previous posts here and here).  The synagogue was officially opened in 1914. Guimard is responsibele for as well the exterior as the interior.

Agoudas Hekehilos refers to a society of orthodox Jews, mostly of Russian origin, who commissioned and financed the building.

On the evening of Yom Kippur in 1941, the building was dynamited along with six other Parisian synagogues, restored after the war. A new refurbishing of the facade would certainly be nice.



16 comments:

Olivier said...

encore une belle decouverte, meme si je prefere les eglises orthodoxes

Maria said...

Its my first time that I see a synagogue inside.
Thanks, Peter.
Besos, :)

Vagabonde said...

I am so pleased to see the inside of this synagogue. When we were in Paris last year we rented a studio on rue Ferdinand Duval which is 1 block ½ for rue Pavée. We walked by this synagogue but did not go inside. I guess it is not usually open to the public?
It must be so much fun to take tourists to out of the way places in Paris and also to meet interesting people from many countries.

French Girl in Seattle said...

Well, I can honestly say I have never set a foot in a synagogue, so merci, Peter, for taking us in today... A very interesting building (I have often walked past it...) A bientôt, Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

Studio at the Farm said...

Thank you, Peter. I have never seen the inside of a synagogue.

Alain said...

Tu es vraiment un parisien privilégié. A quand la visite du siège du PC avec des Russes nostalgiques ?

hpy said...

L'enfer est pavé de bonnes intentions. (Rien à voir avec ta synagogue à la Guimard.)

claude said...

ALAIN revient en forme, à ce que je vois !
Merci pour la visite.
Tout devrais être visitable, si je puis dire, par tout le monde.
Cela me rappelle notre dernière visite à Fort de France avec nos presque ex amis allemands qui ne se sont intéressés à rien. Elle, pas question de rentrer dans la cathédrale, je suis protestante.
Je n'ai pas protesté, de toute façon elle était fermée.
C'est la première fois qu'on a visité FdF aussi vite.
Prochain voyage à l'automne 2013, mais seulement à deux, car à deux , c'est mieux.
Beaucoup mieux.

Mo said...

We're all lucky to take your tour inside the synagogue. Thanks

Baglady said...

I've passed that one so many times - so nice to see inside!

Starman said...

Why would you have trouble entering a synagogue?

Anonymous said...

My maternal grandfather's mother was Jewish...
Because of that anything that has to do with the Jewish faith is fascinating to me...
Fascinating also that Parisian neighborhood...
Thanks for the tour, Peter!
Maria

Thérèse said...

Du pas vu tous les jours.

Jeanie said...

What a beautiful synagogue, Peter. I must have walked by it more than once and didn't even see.

I just recommended your service (and said to ask for Peter!) to a couple coming in from the states later this month -- Bruce and Joanne VandenBergh. Bruce was a professor in the advertising department, a major creative person and one of my mentors. Don't know if their schedule will coincide with yours, but I thought they should at least try for the best!

Paris Paul said...

Thanks for the view inside this! I've always loved the outside, fan that I am of Guimard and Art Nouveau, but always wondered what the interior looked like...

arabesque said...

i;ve never been inside a synagogue before so this was an interesting piece.
the interiors though a bit old still looks beautiful and very simple.
i didn't know you were part of the parisien d'un jour,
but then again, you're a wonderful tour guide sans exaggeration. ^0^