Rumbach Street Synagogue

47°29′52.1″N 19°3′31.8″E / 47.497806°N 19.058833°E / 47.497806; 19.058833ArchitectureArchitect(s)Otto WagnerStyleMoorish RevivalGroundbreaking1869Completed1872SpecificationsDirection of façadeSWLength50 meters (160 ft)Width35 meters (115 ft)Height (max)28 meters (92 ft)

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] Intentionally meant to serve the members of the Neológ community of Pest, its construction coincided with the Schism in Hungarian Jewry of 1869, and it became the home of the more conservative Status Quo faction.

The Moorish Revival synagogue has eight sides and has recently been restored with a grant from the Budapest Government. 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 shrine in Jerusalem.

Historically, but especially since the completion of its renovation in the summer of 2021, the synagogue regularly hosts plays, concerts, photo exhibits and other cultural events.^[2]

The Rabbi of the Rumbach Street synagogue was Rabbi Shloime Boruch Schmalhausen until the Holocaust and deportation of the Jews of Budapest.^[3]

History

A modern, revamped and restored building was inaugurated in June, 2021. The restoration costs included a US$11.2m grant from the Hungarian state.^{[4] [5]}

Notes

References

• Muller, Ines (1992). Die Otto Wagner-Synagoge in Budapest (in German). Wien: Löcker. ISBN 978-3-85409-200-1.
• Kalmar, Ivan Davidson (2001). "Moorish Style: Orientalism, the Jews, and Synagogue Architecture" (PDF). Jewish Social Studies. 7 (3): 68–100. doi:10.2979/JSS.2001.7.3.68. hdl:1807/35319. S2CID 162229425. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
• Szegő, György (2004). "The Gozsdu Court in the Jewish Triangle". The Hungarian Quarterly. XLV (76). Archived from the original on 2006-05-29. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gotthard Deutsch, Alexander Büchler (1901–1906). "Budapest". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
• Jewish.hu - The Synagogue Triangle
• Kaufman, Rachelle Kaufman An American Jew in Budapest 2015

External links

Media related to Rumbach Street Synagogue at Wikimedia Commons

• Status Quo (Rumbach St.) Synagogue in the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art, Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

See also

* Status Quo Ante Synagogue