Synagogue Rue des Tournelles (4th Arrondissement)
In the heart of Paris’s 3rd and 4th arrondissements, the Marais district has long served as a pivotal site for Jewish settlement, with roots tracing back to the medieval period. Historical records indicate that Jews resided in Paris from at least the 6th century, establishing communities on the Île de la Cité and later in the Marais, known then as “La Juiverie“/“the Jewry”. Expelled from France in 1394 by Charles VI, Jews returned following the French Revolution’s emancipation in 1791, with Ashkenazi immigrants from Alsace and Lorraine revitalizing the area in the early 19th century. By the 1880s, waves of Eastern European Jews fleeing pogroms transformed the neighborhood around Rue des Rosiers into the “Pletzl“, a vibrant enclave of Yiddish-speaking artisans, merchants, and scholars.
The district’s architectural heritage reveals layers of resilience. The Synagogue de la Rue Pavée, an Art Nouveau masterpiece designed by Hector Guimard in 1913, exemplifies early 20th-century Jewish revival, its elegant facade surviving the Nazi occupation to continue hosting Orthodox services. Nearby, the Synagogue des Tournelles, established in the Marais’s historic core, reflects the integration of Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions post-World War II. Tragically, the Holocaust decimated the Pletzl, with over 11,000 Parisian Jews deported. Memorials like the Shoah Memorial on Rue Geoffroy-l’Asnier honor this loss.
This evolution parallels New York’s Lower East Side, another late-19th-century haven for Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Both districts were densely populated, working-class enclaves characterized by narrow streets, tenements, and kosher establishments, where Yiddish culture flourished amid economic hardship. Like the Lower East Side, which transitioned from immigrant poverty to gentrified multiculturalism while preserving synagogues and cultural markers, the Marais has evolved into a trendy area with luxury shops and a prominent LGBTQ+ community, yet retains Jewish vitality through bookstores and eateries.
Today, France hosts Europe’s largest Jewish population of approximately 450,000, with Paris’s community, largely Sephardic due to mid-20th-century North African migrations, extending to Belleville and the 19th arrondissement. Amid contemporary challenges like antisemitism, the Marais embodies enduring adaptation, inviting reflection on centuries of Jewish perseverance in urban spaces.
Let’s walk through the hidden gems of Jewish Paris history, book a tour with me and see these remarkable places up close!
