Rumbach Street Synagogue

Rumbach Street Synagogue
Hungarian: Rumbach utcai Zsinagóga
Towers of the synagogue in 2007
Religion
Affiliation	Neolog Judaism
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz The Status Quo Schism in Hungarian Jewry
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue; Also, concert hall and Jewish museum (since 2021)
Status	Active
Location
Location	Rumbach Sebestyén St. 11-13, Belváros, Budapest
Country	Hungary
Location of the synagogue in Budapest
Geographic coordinates	47°29′52.1″N 19°3′31.8″E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Otto Wagner
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Moorish Revival
Groundbreaking	1869
Completed	1872
Specifications
Direction of façade	Southwest
Length	50 meters (160 ft)
Width	35 meters (115 ft)
Height (max)	28 meters (92 ft)
Dome(s)	Two (maybe more)
Materials	Brick

The Rumbach Street Synagogue (Hungarian: Rumbach utcai zsinagóga), also called the Status Quo Ante Synagogue, is a Neológ congregation and synagogue, located in Belváros, the inner city of the historical old town of Pest, in the eastern section of Budapest, Hungary. Since 2021, the building has also been used as a concert hall and Jewish museum.

History

The synagogue was built in 1872 for the The Status Quo congregation to the design of Otto Wagner, a Viennese architect. 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 fraction.

Completed in the Moorish Revival style, the synagogue has eight sides and was restored during 2021 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.

A modern, revamped and restored building was inaugurated in June 2021. The restoration costs included a US$11.2m grant from the Hungarian state.

Gallery

• 
  Interior
• 
  Façade
• 
  Project by Otto Wagner

See also

• History of the Jews in Hungary
• List of synagogues in Hungary
• Schism in Hungarian Jewry

References

Bibliography

• 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 March 19, 2008.
• Kaufman, Rachelle (2015). An American Jew in Budapest.
• Muller, Ines (1992). Die Otto Wagner-Synagoge in Budapest (in German). Wien: Löcker. ISBN 978-3-85409-200-1.
• Szegő, György (2004). "The Gozsdu Court in the Jewish Triangle". The Hungarian Quarterly. XLV (76). Archived from the original on May 29, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Deutsch, Gotthard; Büchler, Alexander (1901–1906). "Budapest". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
• "The Synagogue Triangle". Jewish.hu.

External links

Media related to Rumbach Street Synagogue at Wikimedia Commons