Old Jewish Quarter

Saint Frobert is the Old Jewish quarter of Troyes. It gathers the streets St Frobert, Hennequin, du Paon, Audiffred, Cordeliers, Boucherat. The rue Saint-Frobert and the current district are named after the old church which is said to have been built on the site of a synagogue where Rashi is said to have taught. The rue du Paon probably housed his home. In the Middle Ages, the neighbourhood was known as the “Broce aux Juifs” which referred to the brushwood in the area, situated close to the countryside. In the 11th century, this area was home to several jewish families including Rachi. The Jewish community of Troyes was able to develop thanks to the protection granted to them by the counts of Champagne from the 11televenth to the 13th century between the reign of Thibault II and Thibault IV. If Jewish families gathered in this neighborhood nothing distinguished them from the rest of the population. It was not until 1215 that the Church forced them to wear a distinctive sign on their clothes in the form of a piece of yellow cloth called a wheel (Rouelle). Rashi died at age 65 on July 13, 1105. Buried in Troyes with full honours in the former jewish cemetery, situated in the area of Moretti’s sculpture, outside the walls of the medieval city, next to the Porte de la Girouarde today disapeared (located at the time at the crossroads of Quai Dampierre and Rue de la Cité). The cemetery was demolished in the 16th century to enlarge the city and his grave disapeared.