Synagogues in Budapest

ブダペストでのシナゴーグ巡り。
私のお気に入りは、アールヌーボー建築の、Orthodox Synagogue。

I visited a historical Jewish residential area, which is located in Erzsébetváros, the 7th district of Budapest, situated on the Pest side of the Danube. There are a couple of Synagogues. I visited Dohány Street Synagogue, Statusquo Synagogue, and Orthodox Synagogue.

Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and seats 3,000 people. This is the main place of worship for Hungarian Jews. Its famous organ was played by Saint-Saens and Franz Liszt. In the small square just outside the temple, a silver coloured weeping willow commemorates then hundreds of thousands of Holocaust victims.

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.

In narrow Rumbach Sebestyen utca, we find the Statusquo Synagogue, built likewise in a Moorish, oriental style between 1870 and 1872. The synagogue was used to house the rabbis' homes and several schools. After World War II, the synagogue could only function until 1959. Abandoned, it became dilapidated, and eventually the community sold it. Its future remains uncertain. It was a pity that the building was run-down and I could not enter it.

Although these two synagogues are nice, my favorite one is Orthodox Synagogue. This is an area where Orthodox Jews clustered. According to the guidebook I bought, the synagogue is still the most important place of worship for the Orthodox community of Budapest. Completed in 1913, it is one of the most characteristic examples of Hungarian synagogues and an outstanding example of Hungarian Art Nouveau architecture. There were crenellations at the top of the building. The arched door was also characteristic of Art Nouveau. There were two men, and one of them gave a brief explanation about the synagogue. I was happy to have experienced the important center of worship for local community.