Synagogue d'Avignon, Religious monument in Avignon, France.
Synagogue d'Avignon is a neoclassical building with a white rotunda held up by columns and topped by a central dome. The square interior space is furnished with walnut pieces and feels carefully proportioned.
The bishop of Avignon fixed the site of the Jewish quarter and its synagogue at the end of the 1220s, and synagogues have been rebuilt there repeatedly since 1236. The building was reconstructed in 1785–1787 by François Franque, destroyed by fire in 1845, then rebuilt by Joseph-Auguste Joffroy and inaugurated on 20 May 1849.
The prayer hall keeps the layout of a Comtadine synagogue, but lacks the seat of Elijah that usually distinguished these buildings. The bimah, the pulpit and the benches are made of walnut. The former Jewish quarter around Place Jérusalem was closed by three gates: the Upper Gate, the Lower Gate and the Portalet de la Calandre.
The building sits at Place Jerusalem in central Avignon and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should check ahead since opening hours are limited and guided tours are offered.
Unlike other Comtadine synagogues, Avignon's has no seat of Elijah, the chair traditionally kept for the prophet at circumcisions. The prayer hall is a neoclassical rotunda on white columns under a dome, set inside a square building, with walnut bimah, pulpit and benches. The site has held a synagogue since 1236.
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