List of synagogues in Hungary

The so-called New Synagogue of Szeged monumental building in Szeged (built in 1900–1902)
Another synagogue: the synagogue of Eger (built in 1911–1913). It was also a colossal work of its time, but it was demolished in 1967, so only a few black and white photographs testify to its existence.

This List of synagogues in Hungary contains active, otherwise used and destroyed synagogues in Hungary. This article 'contains synagogues' built in the historical Hungary area, broken down by county. Most of the synagogues listed are no longer in use or have other non-religious functions, and some have been demolished.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were Jewish communities in many settlements of the Kingdom of Hungary, which eventually built their own church, synagogue. Most of these buildings were built with extremely sophisticated artistic exterior and interior designs. There were many Classicist style, many Romantic, many Eclectic and some Art Nouveau. It was designed to be more monumental in size to show the greatness and richness of the equalized and enriching Jewry of the turn of the century - similar to the churches of the Christian churches of the time.

However, during World War II, several synagogues were destroyed or significantly damaged. There has never been a central register of the properties of decentralized and autonomous communities, says Gusztáv Zoltai in 2010, the managing director of Mazsihisz (Association of Jewish Communities in Hungary).[1] After World War II, much was demolished. Many buildings could not be maintained by the local Jewish community, whose membership dropped significantly due to the Holocaust and were sold to municipalities in the 1950s and 1960s. Several of the buildings sold in this way were renovated for cultural purposes - but there were some that were used as warehouses without any preservation. Some were transformed into shops and not one was demolished, as the simplistic architectural trends of the era did not favor the more ornate styles of the past.[2] Examples are the huge Eger Synagogue,[3] a Makó Neological Synagogue[4] and Salgótarján synagogue.[5] The memory of the destroyed Hungarian synagogues is now only photos and postcards. The situation is similar with other parts of the Carpathian Basin belonging to historical Hungary. (Southern Region, Croatian Territories, Highlands, Transylvania, Transcarpathia)

The list of Hungarian synagogues is not necessarily complete, as only a negligible number of sources testify to the existence of some synagogues. Edited by Péter Újvári in 1929, Budapest lists' 'Hungarian Jewish lexicon' 'lists several Hungarian settlements where a synagogue existed at the time of the book' s publication. Larger research into the still standing and already destroyed buildings began during the change of regime. In 1989 László Gerő Synagogues in Hungary, in 2005 Hedvig Podonyi Synagogues in Hungary published photo albums. Larger than all this is Rudin Klein's 2011 book Synagogues in Hungary 1782–1918, who devoted no less than 678 pages to the issue. In 2019, 162 still existing synagogues were identified in a study organized by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which "which is roughly a quarter of the number of synagogues before World War II." If this estimate is correct, there were more than 600 synagogues in Hungary before 1939, and it seems that this number' 'does not include' 'many of the previously annexed Hungarian territories. synagogue. "During the trip, [of the participants of the research tour] managed to visit 138 of the 162 buildings listed. Roughly 10,000 photos were taken and many synagogues were fully documented, and accurate floor plans were made for several buildings, such as the synagogue in Abony, Baja, Keszthely or Kővágóörs."[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference eldozerolt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ https://mazsihisz.hu/hirek-a-zsido-vilagbol/mazsihisz-hirek/eldozerolt-es -resaved-synagogues
  3. ^ "Műemlékvédelmi rombolás Eger belvárosában – Napi Történelmi Forrás".
  4. ^ "Ősszel avatják a makói neológ zsinagóga emlékművét". 4 February 2014.
  5. ^ "Zsinagóga".
  6. ^ "Kielégítőnek mondható a magyarországi zsinagógák állapota". 11 September 2020.