hu, Jakab és Komor téri zsinagóga, Szabadka , image = Synagogue in Subotica.jpg , alt = , caption = Subotica Synagogue in 2020, after renovation , map_type =Serbia , map_size = , location = Subotica-Szabadka, Jakab and Komor Square , coordinates = , religious_affiliation =

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

, rite = , region = , state = , province = , territory = , prefecture = , sector = , district = , cercle = , municipality = , consecration_year = 1901 , status = , functional_status = , heritage_designation = , leadership = , website = , architecture = , architect = , architecture_type = , architecture_style = Hungarian Art Nouveau , general_contractor = Komor Marcell & Jakab Dezső , facade_direction = , groundbreaking = , year_completed = 1903 , construction_cost = , specifications = , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , height_max = , dome_quantity = , dome_height_outer = , dome_height_inner = , dome_dia_outer = , dome_dia_inner = , spire_quantity = , spire_height = , materials = , nrhp = , added = , refnum = , embedded = , designation1 = Serbia , designation1_type= Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance , designation1_offname = , designation1_date = 1975 , designation1_number
СК 1035
The Jakab and Komor Square Synagogue in Subotica is a Hungarian Art Nouveau synagogue in

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Subotica i ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

. It is the second largest synagogue in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

after the Dohány Street Synagogue in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

. It was built in 1901-1902 during the administration of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

(part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

), according to the plans of

Marcell Komor Marcell may refer to: * Joseph Marcell, an actor from St. Lucia * Marcell, Minnesota, an unincorporated town * Marcell Township, Minnesota See also * Marcel (disambiguation) * Marcelle (disambiguation) Marcelle may refer to: *Marcelle, a French f ...

and Dezső Jakab replacing a smaller and less elaborate synagogue. It is one of the finest surviving pieces of religious architecture in the art nouveau style. It served the local Neolog community. In 1974 the synagogue was designated a Monument of Culture; in 1990 it was designated a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance, and it is protected by

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. The synagogue has long been plagued by conservation issues, though a decade-long partnership between the government and

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

that ended in 2010 rendered the building watertight after years of water infiltration. Work on the restoration of the facades is the next phase of work on the synagogue.

Overview

The synagogue of Subotica is the only surviving Hungarian art nouveau Jewish place of worship in the world. Erected by a prosperous Jewish community of some 3000 souls between 1901 and 1903, it highlights the double, Hungarian-Jewish identity of its builders, who lived in a multi-ethnic, but predominantly Catholic city, which was the third largest of the Hungarian Kingdom and the tenth largest of the Habsburg Empire. The community hired a not-yet established tandem of Hungarian art nouveau architects from Budapest, Dezső Jakab and Marcell Komor, who would later make a great imprint on the architecture of Subotica and Palić, the resort town near the city. The architects were ardent followers of

Ödön Lechner Ödön Lechner (born Eugen Lechner, 27 August 1845 – 10 June 1914) was a Hungarian architect, one of the prime representatives of the Hungarian Szecesszió style, which was related to Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe, including the Vienna ...

, the father of Hungarian art nouveau style architecture, and later partisans of this movement, which unified Hungarian folklore elements with some Jewish structural principles and sometimes even Jewish motifs. Besides lending the synagogue a distinct double identity in architectural terms, Jakab and Komor created a new space-conception of synagogue architecture in Hungary and deployed modern steel structure as well as an advanced technique of vaulting. Unlike period synagogues in Hungary that featured a predominantly basilica-like arrangement with a nave and two aisles, with or without a dome, this synagogue achieves a unified, tent-like central space under the sun, painted in gold on the apex of the dome. The women’s gallery and the dome are supported by four pairs of steel pillars covered with gypsum with a palm leaf relief. The large dome is a self-supporting, 3-5 centimeters thin shell-structure, formed in the spirit of Hungarian folklore. While many other synagogues have utilized light structures, they usually mimicked traditional arches and vaults. The novelty of this synagogue is the sincere display of modern structure and modernity in general, of which Jews have been important advocates and generators. The synagogue was fully renovated in multi-million renovation project financed mainly by Hungarian and Serbian government and opened in march 2018 }

External links

* Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/synagogue24000 * https://web.archive.org/web/20080514013503/http://www.duke.edu/religion/graphic/subotica.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20071028030928/http://www.bh.org.il/swj/general.php?places=31&language=1

References

{{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance Buildings and structures in Subotica Synagogues in Serbia Religious buildings and structures in Vojvodina Neolog Judaism synagogues Jewish Serbian history Architecture in Serbia Art Nouveau synagogues Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance (Serbia) Art Nouveau architecture in Serbia Synagogues completed in 1903 7 Most Endangered Programme