The Dohány Street Synagogue ( ; ; ), also known as the Great Synagogue () or Tabakgasse Synagogue (), is a Neolog

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located on Dohány Street in Erzsébetváros (VIIth district) of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

. It is the largest synagogue in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, seating 3,000 people, and is a centre of Neolog Judaism. The congregation worships in the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

rite Rite may refer to: Religion * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite (Christianity), sacred rituals in the Christian religion * Ritual family, Christian liturgical traditions; often also called ''liturgical rites'' * Catholic particular ch ...

. The synagogue was built between 1854 and 1859 in the

Moorish Revival 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 Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

and Romantic Historicist styles, with the decoration based chiefly on

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

models from

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and medieval Spain (the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

). The synagogue's Viennese architect,

Ludwig Förster Ludwig Christian Friedrich (von) Förster (8 October 1797 – 16 June 1863) was a German-born Austrian architect. While he was not Jewish, he is known for building Jewish synagogues and churches. Ludwig Förster studied in Munich and Vienna. ...

, believed that no distinctively Jewish architecture could be identified, and thus chose ''"architectural forms that have been used by oriental ethnic groups that are related to the Israelite people, and in particular the Arabs"''. The interior design is partly by Frigyes Feszl. The Dohány Street Synagogue complex consists of the Great Synagogue, the Heroes' Temple, a graveyard, a memorial, and a

Jewish museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

, the latter built on the site where

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

's house of birth stood. Dohány Street itself, a leafy street in the city center, carries strong

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

connotations as it constituted the border of the Budapest Ghetto.

History

Built in a residential area between 1854 and 1859 by the Jewish community of Pest, according to the plans of Ludwig Förster, the monumental synagogue was intended to be the first distinctive manifestation of Jewish presence in the city. It was designed to hold a capacity of 2,964 seats (1,492 for men and 1,472 in the women's galleries), making it the largest Jewish place of worship constructed before the 20th century. Today it is the largest in Europe and one of the largest working synagogues in the world (after Temple Emanu-el in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem). The synagogue was consecrated on 6 September 1859. As a special celebratory act to mark the completion of the building, the keystone was placed in the Torah ark with a silver trowel made purposely for the occasion. This trowel, together with the keys of the synagogue, is kept at the adjacent Jewish Museum. The synagogue endured a fair amount of war ordeals. It was bombed by the Hungarian pro-

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party (, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to ...

on 3 February 1939. Used as a base for German Radio and also as a stable during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the building suffered some severe damage from aerial raids during the Nazi occupation, but especially during the

Siege of Budapest The siege of Budapest or battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budapes ...

. During the

Communist era A communist era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist ...

, the damaged structure became again a prayer house for the much-diminished Jewish community. Its restoration and renovation started in 1991, financed by the state and by private donations, and was completed in 1998.

Architecture

Exterior

The building is long and wide. The Dohány Street Synagogue was completed in the Moorish Revival and Romantic Historicist styles, while its design also features a mixture of Byzantine Revival,

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

, and

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

elements. The façade is characterised by twin octagonal towers, on which rest two onion domes at height. An elaborate stone cornice separates the towers, featuring oriental-style crenellations, while a rose window sits over the main entrance. Jewish iconographic elements, such as the Star of David and the Stone Tablets, are alluded to in the external ornamentation. The Moorish element is evidenced by the alternating yellow and red brickwork. The synagogue is not aligned with the axis of the street, but rather occupies an asymmetric lot, with the façade overlooking an irregularly shaped small square. The square bears markings which depict a menorah when viewed from above. Central Synagogue in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, is inspired by the Dohány Street Synagogue.

Interior

Like Christian

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

s, the building comprises three spacious richly decorated aisles, as well as two balconies and, unusually, an organ. The

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...

and the internal frescoes, made of colored and golden geometric shapes, are the works of the famous Hungarian romantic architect Frigyes Feszl. The ark contains various Torah scrolls taken from other synagogues destroyed during the Holocaust. A single-span cast iron supports the nave. The seats on the ground-floor are for men, while the upper gallery, supported by steel ornamented poles, has seats for women. This synagogue is very different from other synagogues as it is the only one to have pipe organs and a cemetery.

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

and

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

played the original 5,000-pipe

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

built in 1859. A new mechanical organ with 63 voices and four manuals was built in 1996 by the German firm Jehmlich Orgelbau Dresden GmbH. One of the most important concerts in the synagogue's history occurred in 2002, and featured the organ virtuoso Xaver Varnus, with an audience of around 7000 sitting and standing people in attendance.

Renovation

Following the return to democracy in Hungary, renovations began in the 1990s. The three-year program of reconstruction was initially funded by a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

5 million donation from the Hungarian government. Jewish Americans Estée Lauder and

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

contributed to the additional $20 million needed to complete the restoration in 1996.

Synagogue complex

Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives

The Hungarian Jewish Museum (Magyar Zsidó Múzeum és Levéltár) was constructed on the plot where

's two-story

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

style house stood, adjoining the Dohány synagogue. The Jewish Museum was built in 1930 in accordance with the synagogue's architectural style and attached in 1931 to the main building. It holds the ''Jewish Religious and Historical Collection'', a collection of religious relics of the Pest Hevrah Kaddishah (Pest Jewish Burial Society), ritual objects of

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

and the

High Holidays In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, th ...

, and a Holocaust room.

Heroes' Temple

The arcade and the Heroes' Temple, which seats 250 people and is used for religious services on weekdays and during the winter time, was added to the Dohány Street Synagogue complex in 1931. The Heroes' Temple was designed by Lázlo Vágó and Ferenc Faragó and serves as a memorial to Hungarian Jews who gave their lives during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Jewish cemetery

In 1944, the Dohány Street Synagogue was part of the Jewish ghetto for the city Jews and served as shelter for many hundreds. Over two thousand of those who died in the ghetto from hunger and cold during the winter 1944-1945 are buried in the courtyard of the synagogue. It is not customary to have a cemetery next to a synagogue (as

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

specifies that decedents are to be buried outside of city limits), and the establishment of the cemetery was only the result of historical circumstances. In 1944, as a part of the Eichmann-plan, 70,000 Jews were relocated to the ghetto of Pest. Until 18 January 1945, when the Russians liberated the ghetto, around 8,000 to 10,000 people had died; although some of the deceased were transferred to the Kozma Street Cemetery, 2,000 people were buried in the makeshift cemetery. In memory of those who had died, there is a memorial by the sculptor, Imre Varga, depicting a weeping willow with the names and tattoo numbers of the dead and disappeared just behind the synagogue, in the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park.

Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park

The Raoul Wallenberg Emlékpark (memory park), named in honour of

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

, is located in the rear courtyard and holds the ''Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs'', also known as the ''Holocaust'' ''Tree of Life Memorial''. At least 400,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Made by Imre Varga, it resembles a weeping willow whose leaves bear inscriptions with the names of victims. There is also a memorial to Wallenberg and other

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

, among them: Swiss Vice-consul Carl Lutz; Giorgio Perlasca, an Italian man who, with a strategic escamotage, declared himself the Spanish consul, releasing documents of protection and current passports to Jews in Budapest without distinction (he saved five thousand); Mons. Angelo Rotta, an Italian Prelate Bishop and Apostolic Nuncio of the State of Vatican City in Budapest, who issued protective passes, misrepresentations of baptism (for averting forced labor), and Vatican passports to Jews in Budapest without distinction of any kind, and who, with his secretary Mons. Gennaro Verolino saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews; Carlos de Liz-Texeira Branquinho a Portuguese diplomat, serving as Portugal's Chargé d'Affaires in Budapest in 1944, who issued protective passports to hundreds of Jewish families, saving altogether about 1,000 lives; Carlos Sampaio Garrido, the Portuguese Ambassador, who resisted the Hungarian political police when the police raided his home arresting his guests, and who, though also arrested, managed to have his guests released by invoking the extraterritorial legal rights of diplomatic legations.

Gallery

File:Synagoge Budapest 2014.jpg, Exterior from the front side File:Dohany utca zsinagoga.jpg, Ornamental detail on the façade File:Dohany Street Synagogue Exterior Window.jpg, Detail of one of the windows File:Mémorial holocauste Budapest.jpg, Holocaust Tree of Life Memorial File:The performance of the hostages in the Budapest Synagogue.jpg, A sign with pictures of the hostages in Gaza, on the synagogue gates

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dohany Street Synagogue 19th-century synagogues in Hungary 21st-century attacks on Jewish institutions Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Hungary Ashkenazi synagogues Erzsébetváros Jewish cemeteries in Hungary

Landmarks in Hungary Moorish Revival architecture in Hungary Moorish Revival synagogues Jewish Museum and Archives Neolog synagogues in Hungary Neo-romanticism Synagogue buildings with domes Synagogues completed in 1859 Synagogues in Budapest