Szeged

Like other free royal towns, Szeged did not allow Jews to settle within the boundaries of the town. The first Jewish community came to exist at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The community rapidly grew as the city became more and more prosperous and the first synagogue – built in 1809 – proved to be too small for the burgeoning community. The open call for designs was won by Lipót Baumhorn, an architect who had already designed a dozen synagogues. The new synagogue, designed by Baumhorn opened in 1903. This beautiful dome structure is one of Hungary’s finest pieces of Art Nouveau architecture. The architect designed the interior following the recommendations and advice of Rabbi Immánuel Löw of Szeged, who enjoyed scholarly fame all over the world. The art nouveau designs of the structural and the decorative elements of the gleaming blue dome, which represents the universe, contain references to Jewish teachings. The windows resembling Jewish holidays and events of the Jewish calendar are the work of Miksa Róth, the artist who also created the glass decorations of the Parliament and the Academy of Music. The interior fixtures, designed by acclaimed craftsmen of the time, are in harmony with each other, with the building and also with Jewish teachings. The materials used also bore a meaning. The Torah Ark was made of Sittim, a type of tree found along the River Nile and resembling the timber used to make the ancient Ark of the Covenant. The decoration of the Torah Ark also resembles the plants of ancient Israel. The keystone of the Torah reading platform was made of authentic Jerusalem marble as a reminder of the eternal capital of the Jewish world. Some 2,500 people, half of the total Jewish population of Szeged were murdered during the Holocaust. Property the Hungarian authorities had confiscated form the Jews in 1944 was stocked up in the synagogue. The synagogue remained in the hands of the reviving Jewish community after 1945 and is currently used as a house of prayer. It is also open to visitors as a national monument.