12+1 facts about the Dohány Street Synagogue

It can easily be said that there is a historically important building around each corner in Budapest. One of these is the Dohány Street Synagogue, which has become a popular touristic destination and attraction, but there is much more to it than just pretty windows and gloomy history. The following is a collection of some of the most interesting and important facts about the Synagogue.

1) The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world. The building is 75 metres long and 27 metres wide. It seats almost 3000 people: 1492 men and 1472 women, plus there are standing places. Tourists are allowed to visit ceremonies as well, given that they respect the traditions.

2) Even before the construction of the Dohány Street Synagogue began, people could pre-order seats. This meant that some seats were reserved for them and only they could use those places. Later, these could be sold.

3) During the early days of the Second World War, the Dohány Street Synagogue was used as the German Radio’s base and as a stable.

4) The most dominant stylistic elements are in Moorish style, but we can notice Byzantine, Romantic and even Gothic design features. The designer of the Synagogue was Ludwig Förster, who designed the Synagoge Tempelgasse in Vienna (it has been demolished since) and the Synagogue of Miskolc. Since the designers and architects of the synagogue were not Jewish people, it resembles Christian basilicas, almost looking like an adaptation of early Christian basilicas.

5) Above the front gate, there is a rose-window, which is the church’s main source of light. The windows on each side of this resemble the two tables on which Moses has written the Ten Commandments.

6) The Central Synagogue in Manhattan, New York City, is almost a true and exact copy of the Dohány Street Synagogue.

7) Interestingly, the Dohány Street Synagogue was built in five years, while its 1991 renovation alone took five years to finish.

8) As it is a Jewish custom to keep Torah scrolls in the ark of the synagogue, the Dohány Street Synagogue contains some as well. A lot of these are from synagogues that were destroyed during the Holocaust.

9) The Dohány Street Synagogue differs from other synagogues in the fact that it has pipe organs (Franz Liszt once played the 5000 pipe organ) and a cemetery. It is not customary to have a cemetery next to a synagogue, but the circumstances during WWII asked for the establishment of one. Between 1944 and 1945 January, approximately 8000-10000 people have died in the ghetto where the Synagogue is found. Two thousand of the deceased were buried there.