Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
GREAT SYNAGOGUE
Budapest's stunning Great Synagogue, with its crenellated red-and-yellow
glazed brick facade and two enormous Moorish-style towers, is the largest
Jewish house of worship in the world outside New York City, seating 3000
worshippers. It is sometimes called the Dohány utca Synagogue (Dohány ut-
cai zsinagóga) in reference to its location.
Built in 1859 according to the designs of Viennese architect Ludwig Förster, the copper-
domed Neolog (strict conservative) synagogue contains both Romantic-style and Moorish
architectural elements. Because some elements of it recall Christian churches - including
the central
rose window
with an inscription from the second book of Moses - the syn-
agogue is sometimes referred to as the 'Jewish cathedral'. It was renovated in the 1990s
largely with private donations, including a cool US$5 million from Estée Lauder, who was
born in New York to Hungarian Jewish immigrants. Inside, don't miss the carvings on the
Ark of the Covenant
by Frigyes Feszl and the sumptuous
organ
, dating back to 1902.
The
Hungarian Jewish Museum
, in an annexe of the synagogue, contains objects re-
lated to religious and everyday life. Interesting items include 3rd-century Jewish headstones
from Roman Pannonia, a vast amount of ritualistic silver, and a handwritten book of the loc-
al Burial Society from the late 18th century. The
Holocaust Memorial Room
relates the
events of 1944-45.
On the synagogue's north side (opposite VII Wesselényi utca 6), the
Holocaust Memori-
al
, designed by Imre Varga in 1991, stands over the mass graves of those murdered by the
Nazis in 1944-45. On the leaves of the metal 'tree of life' are the family names of some of
the hundreds of thousands of victims. On the other side of the memorial garden, you'll find
the
Jewish Quarter Exhibition
, with interactive displays, video and artefacts documenting
what life was like in this area through the eras.
