Synagogue - Dohány Street (Central) Synagogue, Budapest

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Budapest once had a thriving Jewish population, one of the biggest in the world. The Holocaust took its toll, and as many as 40% of the quarter of a million Jews in the city lost their lives to the Nazis or Hungarian Arrow Cross. Today Budapest, in spite of everything, is still home to one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe.

The biggest Jewish population in Europe is served by the biggest synagogue in Europe. With the capacity to host 3,000 prayers, it is even, according to the New York Times, the second biggest in the world. It was built in 1859 in the style of Moorish synagogues in North Africa and Spain and has survived bombings by the Arrow Cross Party (deliberate) and Allies (accidental) to become of one Budapest's most impressive sights.

Entry to the synagogue can be quite complicated. First there is a metal detector, a tragic reminder that even today Jews have been targeted by bombs in Budapest. Secondly you have a choice of tours that is not all that clearly marked.

Basically it goes like this:

* If you want a guided tour, buy a ticket from the kiosk outside the metal guard rails, then follow the instructions you are given.
* If you don't want a guided tour, then enter directly through the metal detector, and buy a ticket from the kiosk on the right of the synagogue before entering. You'll be directed here if you forget and try to enter without paying.
* If you don't want to spend any money, you can just walk through the metal detector and wander the grounds of the synagogue for free.

Note: After writing this tip I moved into an apartment overlooking the Synagogue!

The Dohany Street Synagogue is the second-largest synagogue in the world (after Temple Emanu-El in New York City). Seating three thousand people, the synagogue was built about one hundred and fifty years ago, with elements of both Romantic and Moorish architecture. Theodore Herzl was born in a house next to this synagogue, and today the land that once held his house now holds the Jewish Museum. There are other significant exterior structures such as the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park and the Jewish Cemetery. Inside, there is a five-thousand pipe organ and frescoes painted by Frigyes Feszl. Interestingly, in the 1990s the synagogue underwent a major restoration- funded mainly by Estee Lauder herself! Think about that next time you're spraying on that Youth Dew!

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The Great Synagogue, also known as Dohány Street Synagogue (Hungarian: Dohány utcai zsinagóga/nagy zsinagóga, Hebrew: בית הכנסת הגדול של בודפשט‎ bet hakneset hagadol šel budapešt) or Tabakgasse Synagogue, is located in Erzsébetváros, the 7th district of Budapest. It is the largest synagogue in Eurasia[1] and the second largest in the world

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The Dohany Street Synagogue is the second biggest synagogue in the world and the biggest in Europe. It was built between 1854 and 1859 in a Moorish style reminiscent to the Alhambra in Spain and to other North African mosques. Inside it is very beautiful with a Moorish style gallery and ceiling with exceptionally pretty chandeliers hanging from them. There are two floors to the synagogue, the first for the men and the second for women.
In the side courtyard is a cemetery for the many victims of the Holocaust. The Dohany Street Synagogue was part of the Jewish Ghetto during WW2 and over 2000 Jews that died in the ghetto from starvation and cold are buried here.
In the rear courtyard is the Raoul Wallenberg Memory Park where the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs is located. It is a Memorial which is dedicated to the 400,000 Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis and resembles a weeping willow tree whose leaves bear inscriptions with the names of victims. The synagogue is within walking distance from Deak Ferenc Ter, about 5 minutes. This place along with the Shoes on the Danube are very sombre experiences which brought me close to tears.

Entrance fee is 2000HUF. Guided tours are extra and there are three to choose from:
Dohany Synagogue and Memorial Park-400HUF
Dohany Synagogue, Memorial Park and Jewish Museum-750HUF
Dohany Synagogue, Memorial Park, Jewish Museum and Rumbach Synagogue-1400HUF
500HUF extra for picture taking.

Hours of operation are:
Monday to Thursday and Sunday-10am to 530pm
Friday-10am to 330pm
Closed on Saturdays and holidays.
Friday and Saturday are open for services but you must be Jewish.

Just an FYI. Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish humanitarian who worked in Budapest during WW2. He saved tens of thousands of lives by issuing protective passports and housing Jews in buildings established as Swedish territory. Many memorials around the world are dedicated in his honour along with Israel's dedication as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. He is also an honorary citizen of Hungary, Israel, the US and Canada.

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This is the world's second biggest synagogue today. Moorish style, designed by German architect, Ludwig Forster. Opened on 6 Sept 1859.

There are guided tours in Hebrew and English, and can also be booked in season in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian. In addition to providing information about the synagogue, they also include much about the Hungarian history, which is a must for understanding the area.

Opening hours: 1Nov - 31Mar 10am to 3 pm, Fridays and Sundays til 2pm; 1Apr - 31Oct 10am to 5pm, Fridays til 3pm and Sundays til 6pm.
The synagogue and cashier close half an hour prior to to those times and is closed holidays and festivals. Groups of a minimum of 10 persons receive a discount.

I first read about the Jewish Synagogue in Budapest while I was reading the National Geographic. It was an article on endangered sites around the world. Apparently, a lot of the old Jewish establishments around the Synagogue are being demolished since developers wanted to commercialize the area.

True enough, when I visited the Synagogue in 2007, there was a huge bulldozer at the back (destroying some apartment), while I was at the famous metal “tree of life” which had the names of some Holocaust victims.

The Great Synagogue in Dohány Street, also known as the Dohány Synagogue, or the Tabac-Schul, the Yiddish translation of dohány (tobacco), is the second largest synagogue in the world! It was finished in 1859 and can accommodate 3000 people.
The area of the Synagogue is known as the inner part of the seventh district of Budapest, considered a Jewish ghetto during the Second World War when a wall was built around this area. It was time of oppression and Jews could only leave the ghetto with permission.

Years later, the Synagogue still stands and used by an active Jewish community in Budapest. And I think its great that they are allowing tourists to enter their place of worship. They have even built a Jewish Museum in Synagogue itself, where I saw some old expensive looking menorahs.

There are other synagogues in this area of Budapest, and you will also find some kosher restaurants and shops, a rabbi training school. Hopefully, commercialization will not ruin the character of this historical Jewish community.

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In the 1910 census, nearly a quarter of Budapest’s population was listed as being Jewish – so it should not surprise you that the city plays host to the largest synagogue in all of Europe. Hungarian Jews were, like their German counterparts, quite assimilated into the country’s fabric and spoke Hungarian rather than Yiddish or Ladino. This building, known as Dohány utcai zsinagóga (Dohany street Synagogue) or Nagy zsinagóga (Great Synagogue), was constructed in the middle of the 1800s in the Moorish revival style and was intended as a centre of Neolog Judaism, a more liberal sect of Judaism that was popular among Hungarian Jews. The original building was first bombed by Hungarian ultra-nationalists during the German occupation and then used by the Nazis as a communication centre, but it was restored to its original exterior and use in 1991. The compound includes the house in which Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism, was born – so you can imagine that the security plan for the site, which includes metal detectors, is quite detailed. The exterior also includes various Renaissance and Gothic elements, while the interior has several murals and also an ark containing the religious scrolls of various other synagogues destroyed during the Holocaust. The Synagogue is also the site of the Jewish Museum and a Cemetary, as well as the Raul Wallenberg Memorial Park. Tickets run about $11 and include a tour and admission to the museum – try to plan ahead of time, since the tours are unilingual and you don’t want to get stuck with one conducted in a language you don’t understand.

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The Raul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial is located in the backyard of the Dohany synagogue.

The memorial is to remember the 400000 hungarian-jews that were killed during the war by Arrow Cross and Nazis.

The memorial is a weeping willow tree made by the artist Imre Varga.
On the leaves of the tree you will see names of people who died.