The Fabric 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 ...

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 ...

in the

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

district of

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

. The synagogue was called the New Synagogue because it replaced the old synagogue on Timocului Street. It was built between 1897 and 1899 in an

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact th ...

, with

neo-Moorish Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and Italian neo-Renaissance elements.

History

The year of the foundation of the first synagogue on this site is disputed. Some opinions date it to 1838, others to 1841. The temple was first opened for a Jewish community that, after 1870, joined the so-called ''status quo ante'' trend of Hungarian and Transylvanian Judaism. A dozen years later, this community became

. It was located on Kunz Embankment, on the banks of the

Bega Canal The Bega Canal or Begej Canal (; hu, Béga-csatorna) is a navigation canal of Romania and Serbia. It is the first navigation canal built on the present-day territory of Romania, and serves the city of Timișoara. Its name comes from the Bega riv ...

, next to the Archduke's House, built after 1868, and the Josef Kunz Palace (1892), which were "the symbolic monumental gateway to the Fabric district". The Fabric Synagogue was built according to a project by the Hungarian architect

Lipót Baumhorn Lipót Baumhorn ( hu, Baumhorn Lipót, german: Leopold Baumhorn, 28 December 1860, Kisbér – 8 July 1932, Kisbér) was a Hungarian architect of Jewish heritage, the most influential Hungarian synagogue architect in the first half of the 20th ...

, who designed, among other things, the Neolog synagogues in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...

and

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

. The new building was designed according to the tradition of the great contemporary Neolog synagogues of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire 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 ...

, it is similar in shape to the synagogues in

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...

and

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous pro ...

, built according to the plans of the same architect. Delighted by the plan, the Jews of Fabric formed a temple construction committee, chaired by David Blau, a spirit maker. Sándor Kohn, the sales representative and lawyer of the brick company ''Kunz and Partners'', and Miksa Steiner, the owner of a lye factory, also played a major role. It is interesting that part of the financing of the construction was covered by a lottery organized by the City Hall. The work was entrusted to the Timișoara entrepreneur Josef Kremer. The synagogue was inaugurated on 3 September 1899, with a sermon by Rabbi Jakab Singer, in the presence of the head of the community, Bernát Deutsch, and the mayor of Timisoara,

Carol Telbisz Carol Telbisz ( hu, Telbisz Károly, german: Karl Telbisz, ro, Carol Telbisz, bg, Карол Телбиз) (1853 – 14 July 1914) was an Austro-Hungarian public figure of Banat Bulgarian origin and a long-time Mayor of Temesvár (modern Timișo ...

. The organ was built by the famous Timișoara craftsman . During the war years, after the confiscation of the school premises, the courses of the Israelite High School continued, for a time, inside the synagogue. The synagogue fell into decay at the end of the communist period, closing in 1985 as most of the Jews left in the city after World War II emigrated to Israel. It was closed for 24 years, during which time it was vandalized several times and several valuables, such as sculptures or pieces of furniture, were stolen. In 2009, the Jewish community ceded the Fabric Synagogue to the Timișoara National Theater. The management of the cultural institution planned to renovate the building and set up a performance hall in five years. Since nothing has changed, Timișoara City Hall decided to take over its administration in 2018 in order to turn it into a multicultural center.

Architecture

Fabric Synagogue is one of the most beautiful buildings in Timișoara, notable for its very rich decorative ensemble. Its plan is square, with a central dome that connects to the outer walls through semicircular arches. The central dome rests on an octagonal tambour, made of plastered and painted wood. The building also stands out through its small domes and towers, and on the facade the red brick alternates with the plaster. The Fabric Synagogue features neo-Moorish elements combined with Gothic and neo-Renaissance elements. The height of the building is marked by the adjoining columns, and the upper part is provided with decorative railings. The building has two entrances, one for women and one for men. The one for women is on the street, and from it one can get upstairs. Upstairs is also the

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

. The men have the entrance through a vestibule (''pulish''), and from here they reach the room reserved for them (''heichal''), where there are several wooden benches.

History

Architecture

References

See also