Great Synagogue

Why visit / Interesting facts:

• World's second largest synagogue
• Richly decorated interior

Time required: 60 minutes

Phone: +36-1-462-0478

Opening hours:

Time period	Opening hours
March 1 - October 31, Sun - Thurs:	10am - 5.30pm
March 1 - October 31, Fri:	10am - 3.30pm
November 1 - Februar 28, Sun - Thurs:	10am - 3.30pm
November 1 - Februar 28, Fri:	10am - 1.30pm
Saturdays:	Closed

Admission:

Ticket type	Charge
General:	2000 HUF

Public transport:

• Metro Line 2: Astoria station

Address: 1074 Budapest, Dohány utca 2.

Things you need to know:

• The Great Synagogue of Budapest is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world (after New York); it can hold 3000 people
• It was built between 1854 and 1859 in Moorish style but it also features a mix of Byzantine, Romantic and Gothic elements. It has a suitably lavish interior
• Its style and form, especially the onion domes of the twin towers, much influenced synagogues' design internationally
• The complex also includes the Hungarian Jewish Museum, a graveyard, and a Holocaust Monument, a metallic weeping willow with the names of those died in the Holocaust
• The Jewish Museum, opened in 1931, stands on the site of the birth house of Tivadar Herzl, father of modern Zionism and mastermind of the independent Jewish State
• In World War II, it was the center part of the Jewish ghetto. It suffered severe damages in the period, especially in the siege of Budapest
• During Communism the ruined building became a praying place for the remainding Jewish populaton. The synagogue was reconstructed between 1991 and 1998