Restore the Lille Synagogue to its former glory!
The Synagogue of Lille is now a site of unprecedented renovation.
Today, one hundred and thirty years after its construction, the building is about to reclaim its original splendor.
Beginning 20 September 2019, we are launching a major fundraising campaign to give anyone, who is passionate about their heritage and the restoration of French historical monuments, the opportunity to easily join.
HOW IT WORKS
Every Euro you donate will be TRIPLED by a group of philanthropists! That means that for every euro you donate, the Lille synagogue will get 3!
So that when you make a donation of 50 euros ACI Lille receives 150 euros!
A cerfa receipt will be issued instantly by email!
About this Campaign
The synagogue is owned by the City of Lille and has been managed by the Association Cultuelle Israelite (ACI) since 1905. In addition to the City's ongoing outdoor restoration campaign (facade, roofs and stained glass), the ACI wishes to undertake interior rededication and restoration work.
The funds raised in this campaign will go directly to the restoration project.
About the Synagogue
The Synagogue of Lille is the first synagogue built in the North of France, shortly after the immigration of Alsatian Jews from the countries of Central Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Built by Lille architect Théophile-Albert Hannotin in in Romanesque-Byzantine style, the synagogue was inaugurated in 1891.
Used by the Germans to store their equipment, the synagogue of Lille is one of the few in France to have fully survived the Second World War.
It was granted historical status in 1984.
The synagogue is seventeen meters long and nearly eight meters wide. The entrance has beautiful stone tablets, the pillars are decorated with pairs of storks, a reminder of the origin of the community.
It bears the inscription from Genesis: "This is none other than the house of the Lord, and this is the gate of heaven" (אֵין זֶה, כִּי אִם-בֵּית אֱיֹהִים, וְזֶה, שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם).
