Great Synagogue of Marseille

Great Synagogue of Marseille ( ) is a synagogue on Rue Breteuil in the 6th arrondissement of Marseille .¹ It is classed as a monument historique since 2007. When the previous synagogue on the Rue Grignan was in disrepair and too small, a campaign began in 1855 to raise money for a new site. The design by the architect Nathan Salomon was approved in 1860 and the building finished in 1864. The synagogue takes the basilica form more commonly associated with ancient Greece and Rome, and churches. It is built in the Romano-Byzantine style, and takes influence from the Synagogue de Nazareth , completed in Paris in 1852. A pulpit and an organ – both also associated more with Christian buildings than Jewish ones – feature inside, and the mix of Western and Oriental designs was chosen to reflect the diversity of the worshippers. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the synagogue in January 2016, in solidarity with a local teacher who was attacked by a teenage Islamic State sympathiser. In September 2018, former President of France Nicolas Sarkozy spoke at the synagogue to denounce antisemitism.² "Synagogue dite aussi le grand temple ou la grande synagogue à Marseille" (in French).³ "Marseille - Synagogue, rue de Breteuil" (in French). "Bernard Cazeneuve en visite à la Grande synagogue de Marseille" (in French). "Nicolas Sarkozy à la grande synagogue de Marseille : l'antisémitisme "ne s'explique pas, mais se combat." " .⁴