Jewish festival started in Budapest downtown: traffic changes significantly

A programme series celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of the city of Budapest and joining the European Days of Jewish Culture got under way in the capital on Sunday.

Opening the seven-month event dubbed 150 Years of Jewish Budapest, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said the 150th anniversary marks not only the unification of the regions of Pest, Buda and Obuda into one city, but the integration of many various cultures as well.

“Budapest was born out of the notion of Hungarianess and Europeaness, and this allowed Jews and Christians to coexist in this city,” the mayor said. “Budapest will remain a city of bonds and diversity on which multicoloured palette Jewish culture is one of the nicest colours,” he said.

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Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, the ambassador of Israel and chief patron of the event, noted a large Jewish community thriving in Budapest and in Hungary that has 20 synagogues in the capital and several cultural institution across the country. The programmes this year celebrate not only the 150th anniversary of Budapest, but also the 75th birth anniversary of Israel, he said.

In the morning, Brazilian Ambassador Susan Kleebank opened an exhibition featuring artwork by German-born artist Hanna Brandt who had emigrated to Brazil.

Here is a map about the traffic changes: