Rumbach Street Synagogue

The Rumbach Street synagogue (Hungarian: Rumbach utcai zsinagóga) is located in Belváros, the inner city of the historical old town of Pest, in the eastern section of Budapest. The synagogue in Rumbach Street was built in 1872 to the design of the Viennese architect Otto Wagner.[1] It served the more conservative members of the Neológ community of Pest.

Rumbach Street Synagogue
Rumbach utcai Zsinagóga
Religion
AffiliationJudaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusInactive Synagogue
Location
LocationBudapest, Hungary
Geographic coordinates47°29′52.1″N 19°3′31.8″E
Architecture
Architect(s)Otto Wagner
StyleMoorish Revival
Groundbreaking1869
Completed1872
Specifications
Direction of façadeSW
Length50 meters (160 ft)
Width35 meters (115 ft)
Height (max)28 meters (92 ft)

The Moorish Revival synagogue has eight sides and while the interior is badly in need of restoration, the octagonal, balconied, domed synagogue intricately patterned and painted in Islamic style is exquisitely beautiful. It was built not as an exact replica of, but as an homage to the style of the octagonal, domed Dome of the Rock Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.

The synagogue sometimes hosts plays and photo exhibits*. There is some labeling of items in the synagogue many of which are in a state of ruin*.

The Rabbi of the Rumbach Street synagogue was Rabbi Shloime Boruch Schmalhausen until the Holocaust and deportation of the Jews of Budapest.[2]

Notes

  1. Krinsky, Carol (1996). Synagogues of Europe. New York: Dover Publications. p. 108. ISBN 0-486-29078-6.
  2. Steinmetz, S. (2011) The Little Refugees.

References

Media related to Rumbach Street Synagogue at Wikimedia Commons

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