Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme
Hôtel de Saint-Aignan
71, rue du Temple, 3rd
M° Rambuteau or Hôtel de Ville
Open Tues-Fri 11am–6pm (Wed until 9pm), Sat-Sun 10am–6pm.
Entry €10.
Tel 01 53 01 86 60
www.mahj.org
Heir to the Musée d’Art juif in Rue des Saules, created in 1948 by survivors of the Shoah, the Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme (MahJ) opened in 1998 in the Hôtel de Saint-Aignan (1644-1650), one of the finest mansions in the Marais quarter.
The museum houses the collection of Isaac Strauss (1806-1888), donated in 1890 by Baroness Nathaniel de Rothschild, and seventy gravestones from the medieval cemetery unearthed in 1849 in Rue Pierre-Sarrazin, donated by the publishing house Hachette. The MahJ collection now comprises more than 12,000 works and archive documents.
The museum’s mission (from their website) is to:
- present two thousand years of Jewish presence in France, situating this in the context of the overall history of Judaism;
- preserve, study, disseminate and promote public and private museums collections, archives and documentation devoted to the art and history of the Jewish people;
- organize the dissemination of all forms of artistic expression illustrating the diversity of Jewish culture;
- conceive and organize educative programs providing a fuller knowledge of Jewish culture.
It’s worth allowing at least an hour to properly visit the permenent collection, longer if you’d also like to visit the excellent temporary exhibitions.
Opening Hours: Tues-Fri 11am–6pm (Wed until 9pm), Sat-Sun 10am–6pm. Check for special hours during temporary exhibitions.
Tickets: Entry to the permanent collection is €10, reduced rate of €7 for non-EU visitors 18-26, €5 for EU students 18-26. Free first Saturday of the month. Entry to temporary exhibitions is €8, reduced rate of €5 for visitors 18-26. Free entry to anyone under 18. Prices include audioguide in English.
Info and Services: Book shop and library.
