Carpentras

Being a tourist, I like to investigate what there is to see in a village before I actually visit. I usually look at the website of the town's tourist office and then I scan through other regional sites and the blogs of people who have visited the town of interest.  Recently, when I was preparing to visit Carpentras, I noticed a remark that someone had said about the town.  The site said something about how Carpentras wasn't a big tourist destination.  This did not deter my decision to visit, and in fact, it made me want to see the city even more. 

Our first stop in Carpentras was the tourist office where we were able to obtain a map of the town and see two interesting exhibits. The first exhibit was about architecture in comic books.  Wow! The rooms were filled with large images of different types of architecture featured in comic books.  

 Click here to see the press release

While I explored the other exhibit, Sophia was busy building a structure with lots of little pieces of wood. 

Tarascon

Vaison-la-Romain

The second exhibit focused on the history of Carpentras.  The history was from pre-historic times up to the present time.  There was an interesting time-line in the shape of an arch that visitors walk under to continue with the exhibit.  I won't go into all the details, but what really interested me was the fact that there was a rather large Jewish community in Carpentras.  It seems that in several villages we have visited there have been signs indicating Jewish streets or neighborhoods, but there usually is no explanation.  

Bonnieux

Bonnieux

I learned that there was an active Jewish community and neighborhood in Carpentras until the French Revolution.  Why Carpentras? Carpentras is located in a region called the Comptat Venaissin and in 1274 it was controlled by the Popes of Avignon who allowed the the Jewish community to live in Carpentras and in the Papal Territories.  The Jews were  subject to many restrictions; they had to live in ghettos or carrières, their jobs were limited to only certain professions and even their dress was dictated by the Papacy.  Unfortunately it was not permanent and during the next few centuries their rights were revoked and reinstated by different members of the Papacy.

https://structurae.info/ouvrages/synagogue-carpentras

The sign said not to take pictures and I didn't.  Most of the pictures that I have included are from other sites.  The guided tour of the active synagogue was interesting.  We started in the basement of the building in the parts dating from the 14th century. We visited the bakeries and saw the tools used to make matzoh. We were able to see the ancient mikva baths (ritual purification baths) and the place where animals were butchered following kosher laws.  Our guide explained that the oldest parts of the synagogue were accessed from the carrière or ghetto.  

https://structurae.info/ouvrages/synagogue-carpentras
"This house of prayers was built in 1367
It was reconstructed from 1741 to 1743
It was reestablished in 1929"

http://www.carpentras-ventoux.com/fr/synagogue-communautes-juives-festival-musiques-juives/
Mikvah 

http://www.carpentras-ventoux.com/fr/synagogue-communautes-juives-festival-musiques-juives/
Matzoh machines

http://www.provence-ventoux-comtat.com/photoAlbum.html?webfolder=289

After visiting the oldest part of the synagogue, we went up the 

grand staircase to visit the sanctuary that is still in use today.  This part of the synagogue was built before the French Revolution.  The upper and newer sanctuary was built in two phases 1741-1746 and 1774-1776.  This room is decorated in the Rococo style with ornate pillars, wainscoting and chandeliers.  We were told that the chandeliers were gifted by different families to the temple.  The guide told us that the synagogue was in various stages of disuse from the French Revolution until around 1929.  During the Revolution it was used as a club for revolutionaries.  In the 1800's it was once again used as a temple. I asked the guide about the synagogue during WWII.  She said that many items in the temple were saved because congregants told the authorities that they were to have a funeral in the sanctuary.  While in the sanctuary the men filled the coffin with as many items as they could in order to save the temple's possessions from destruction.  Today the synagogue of Carpentras is the oldest active temple in France.  It was a pleasure to visit such a beautiful example of history.

 After our visit to the synagogue, we continued our stroll through town.  We walked by the Passage Boyer, a glass covered street. Jean Boyer had the idea to build a glass and iron structure over the existing alley in 1848 bringing a Paris like feel to Carpentras. 

Nearby, the Roman Arch dating from the 1st century stands next to the Church and the courthouse.  The Arch was constructed under the Emperor Augustus to commemorate the Roman victory over the Barbarians. The bas-relief on the left is the depiction is of chained prisoners.

The Church of Saint  Siffrein is located in Place Charles de Gaulle in the historic center of Carpentras.  It is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture in a recently renovated square. The church has origins going as far back as the 12th century but the original Romanesque church was destroyed to make way for the new Gothic structure. 

On further exploration, we ventured to the side of the church and looked at the "porte des juifs".  This is the door nearest the baptismal and Jews who were to convert used this door to enter the church.  At the synagogue, the guide told us that all Jews who converted were made to use that door even after their conversion.  

"God the Father and Christ sitting on the dove of the Holy Ghost appear in the clouds surrounded by angles of which the faces were cut away in 1793."  

The rat ball and the relique of Saint Mors (Holy Bit)

Inside the church you can visit the relique of Saint Mors.   It is said that the Holy Bit was made from the "nail of the Passion" - the nail that pierced the right hand of Jesus on the cross.

The Rat ball

The southern door is decorated with the "rat ball" which has several interpretations. The rats might represent the world being gnawed away by sins and sacrilege or perhaps it symbolizes the plague that took so many victims from the Comtat Venaissin.

The last thing that we visited before leaving Carpentras was the fortified gate.  La Porte d'Orange is the only remaining gate from the 14th century. At one time, Carpentras was surrounded by 32 towers and 4 gates.                                                                                                          

World War I monument - Place de Verdun

Le Mont Ventoux - view from downtown Carpentras

I can't believe that someone would say that Carpentras is not a big tourist destination.  The city is full of history, charm and tradition.