The Keszthely Synagogue is a

Neolog Neologs ( hu, neológ irányzat, "Neolog faction") are one of the two large communal organizations among Hungarian Jews, Hungarian Jewry. Socially, the liberal and modernist Neologs had been more inclined toward integration into Hungarian society ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

, located in the town of Keszthely, in the county of Zala,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. Completed in 1852 in the neo-classical style, the shape of the synagogue building was altered in 1894 when the building was remodeled in the spirit of

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in ...

. In 1898 an organ built by Sándor Országh was installed. The building has undergone a number of renovations - in 1930, in 1945 and in 1967. In 1987 part of the ceiling collapsed and as a result planning began in 1991 to fully renovate the building. Full renovation work started in 1993, and the synagogue was reconsecrated on July 7, 1995 in the presence of the President of the Republic Árpád Göncz and the Chief Rabbi Tamás Raj. In 1997 its painted decorations and work on the facade was also completed.

History

The congregation

The first Jews settled in what is now the town of Keszthely in the early 18th century. According to the town census, there were seven Jewish families by 1745. A functioning Jewish community was established in Keszthely in 1766. A map of 1769 depicts an oblong house of Jews on the main street with a chapel in the yard. The community erected a synagogue on this site designed by architect Christopher Hofstadter. In 1812, the Jewish community purchased the building from the domain and in 1852 built the current building in its place. The cemetery used by the congregation is located at 33 Goldmark Károly Street.

Synagogue site

A building and the surrounding land on which the synagogue now stands had been owned by the Pethő family who acquired it by royal donation in 1427. In 1739 it was purchased by Christopher Festetics. The Pethő House located on Kossuth Lajos Street #22, and through which the synagogue is currently accessed, is the oldest building in Keszthely and is also notable as being the birthplace of composer Károly Goldmark in 1830. Károly Goldmark's father was the cantor at the synagogue.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Germans used the synagogue as a warehouse and later as a stall, they also destroyed the organ. During the war, 829 members of the Keszthely Jewish congregation were murdered. Today, the names of these individuals are inscribed on 102 marble plates that hang around the inside perimeter of the synagogue. A black obelisk in front of the synagogue acts as a memorial for the ghetto that also occupied the same land. The members of the ghetto were taken first to Zalaegerszeg and then to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

, the first train arriving there on July 8, 1944.

The building

The building was originally accessed via a narrow mew from Fejér György Street where the Jewish School once stood. Today it is accessed through the archway of Pethő House located on Kossuth Lajos Street #22. The building was erected according to tradition on a lower level as compared to its surroundings. Its East-West length, breadth and height are almost equal. The inside is surrounded on three sides by a gallery for women supported by iron columns. The original neo-classical architecture is still preserved on the East side of the synagogue.

Gallery

Keszthely_Synagogue_Access.JPG, Archway of the Pethő House located on Kossuth Lajos Street #22 through which the Keszthely Synagogue is accessed Keszthely_Synagogue_Entry.JPG, Keszthely Synagogue as seen from the courtyard of the Pethő House Keszthely_Synagogue_Memorial_Obelisk.JPG, Memorial Obelisk of the Keszthely Synagogue Keszthely_Synagogue_Stairway.JPG, Bottom of Stairway in Keszthely Synagogue Keszthely_Synagogue_Bimah.JPG, Bimah of Keszthely Synagogue Keszthely_Synagogue_Rear.JPG, Rear of Keszthely Synagogue Keszthely_Synagogue_Interior.JPG, Interior of Keszthely Synagogue with memorial plaques on the wall

References

External links

{{Synagogues in Hungary 19th-century synagogues in Hungary Buildings and structures in Zala County Keszthely Neoclassical architecture in Hungary Neoclassical synagogues Neolog synagogues in Hungary Synagogues completed in 1852 Synagogues completed in 1894