The Mikvah or Jewish ritual bath at the Hotel de Cheylus

The history of the Jewish people in Comtat Venaissin

In the Middle Ages, the Jewish community was kicked out of most European countries and found exile in Provence, more precisely in Comtat Venaissin, which was not part of the France Kingdom at the time. The Popes, sovereign of the Comtat Venaissin, tolerate their presence but by establishing rules, in particular living gathered together in one and same street, which means the creation of Jewish quarries, in other words, Jewish streets or neighborhoods.

Like Avignon, Cavaillon, Carpentras and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Pernes-les-Fontaines is one of the cities that forced Jews to live in quarries. In fact, from 1504 the Jewish community gathered in the city center around the current "Place de la Juiverie" and "Bourg Merdeux" until 1569, when they were definitively expelled from Pernes.

The life of the Jewish community in Pernes-les-Fontaines

It was probably between 1504 and 1569 that the Jewish ritual bath at the Hotel de Cheylus was built. This private ritual bath, also called "Mikvé", was the only one known in the department until 2016 when a second private Jewish ritual bath was discovered during roadworks on the current "Place de la Juiverie"! In the Jewish religion, its waters have a purifying power. But, the construction and the "Mikvé"'s waters must respect very specific criteria.

The first Mikvé is therefore located in the cellars of the former Cheylus mansion. It consists of an arched “L” basin of up to 2.25 meters. A staircase of eleven stone steps that leads to the pool. The water, which comes from a groundwater table, is stabilized at 1.45 meters thanks to an overflow. A second basin, a monolith, collected rainwater which was added to it to complete the Jewish purification ritual. In 1590, this mansion was bought by the De Cheylus family who gave its current name.

The first Mikvé was classified as Historical Monuments in 1996, while the former private mansion of Cheylus has been partly registered since 1989.

For more information: L'Écho des Carrières, Bulletin of the Cultural Association of Jewish Pope No. 56 “La Juiverie de Pernes” June 2009 edition, 2013 reissue