Dohany Street Synagogue

The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world.

Built in a residential area between 1854-1859 by the Jewish community of Pest the monumental synagogue has a capacity of 2,964 seats. The consecration of the synagogue took place on 6 September 1859.

The synagogue was bombed by the Hungarian pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party on 3 February 1939 and used as a base for German Radio and also a stable during World War II. The building suffered severe damage from aerial raids during the Nazi Occupation but especially during the Siege of Budapest. During the Communist era, the damaged structure became again a prayer house for the much-diminished Jewish community. Its restoration and renovation started in 1991, financed by state and private donations, and was completed in 1998.

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, and the establishment of the 3,000 m2 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.

In memory of those who had died, there is a memorial by the sculptor, Imre Varga, depicting a weeping willow just behind the Synagogue with the names and tattoo numbers of the dead and missing.Read more