Budapest Great Synagogue in Dohany Street

Budapest Vacation Service...Budapest Great Synagogue in Dohany Street

At Budapest Vacation Service our aim is not only to provide first-class accommodation in Budapest downtown apartments, but to give useful advice, hints and tips to ensure an enjoyable, interesting and safe visit to Budapest. For many visitors an absolute 'must do' is a tour of the Budapest Great Synagogue, Europe's largest synagogue located in Dohany Street in Budapest's 7th. district.

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The Great Synagogue Budapest

For many visitors to Budapest, an absolute 'must do' is a tour of the Budapest Great Synagogue.
Located in Dohany utca in Budapest's 7th. district, the synagogue seats almost 3,000 people, making the Budapest synagogue the largest in Europe and second largest synagogue world-wide.

Designed in the Moorish Revival style by Ludwig Förster, the Budapest Great Synagogue, also known as the Dohany Street Synagogue, was built between 1854 and 1859.

During the Nazi occupation of Hungary (1944-1945), the two octagonal towers on the front of the synagogue building were used for military radio transmissions and the synagogue itself was used as a stable and SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer (Lieutenant Colonel) Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962) used the womens' gallery as an office. During the siege of Budapest in 1945, the synagogue building was severely damaged. Between 1991 and 1998 the synagogue was restored to its present condition.

In addition to the synagogue itself, a tour of the synagogue grounds includes the Holocaust memorial, the Heroes Temple, the Hungarian National Jewish Museum, the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park and the garden, which is a mass grave for about 2,000 victims of the Budapest Ghetto, and a portion of the original Budapest Ghetto wall.

The Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs - in the form of a weeping willow tree stands in the garden. Each leaf of the tree is engraved with a name or the name of a family, who were lost as a result of the Holocaust in Hungary, which cost the lives of c.400,000 Hungarian Jews.

Theodore Herzl (1860-1904), the founder of modern Zionism, was born in a house on the site of the Jewish Museum, which was built in 1930 and attached to the main building in 1931.

Below left: Watch the beautifully photographed tour of the Budapest synagogue, created by photographer Laszlo Regos for his book commemorating the 150th. anniversary of the Budapest Great Synagogue.

Below right: A short video clip showing some of the exhibits in the National Jewish Museum and Archives, housed in the Dohany utca Synagogue complex.

Budapest Great Synagogue Exterior

Budapest Great Synagogue Video Clip

Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs

Budapest Great Synagogue Opening Hours:
31. March to 31. October:
Sunday to Thursday 10:00 - 17:30, Friday 10:00 to 15:30
1. November to 28. February 2011:
Sunday to Thursday 10:00 - 15:30, Friday 10:00 to 13:30

Note: The Budapest Great Synagogue is closed for visitors each Saturday and during Jewish Holidays

How to get there:
Closest metro stations: Deak ter or Astoria
From Deak ter: leave metro at Madach Imre ter exit and walk towards Astoria
From Astoria: leave metro at Karoly korut exit and walk towards Deak ter.

See Heroes of the Hungarian Holocaust and visit our Budapest Glass House and Budapest Ghetto pages

Want to see Budapest's main sights on foot? How about taking one of the Budapest Free Walking Tours?
There are 3 different tours to choose from: The Original Free Budapest Tour, Free Communist Walking Tour and Free Jewish Quarter Walking Tour.
See full details here

Above:
A short video clip of the interior of the Budapest Dohany Street Synagogue