Budapest – the Jewish quarter

From the Opera we headed east and walked through the Jewish quarter. Though at one point there was (sadly) a ghetto with walls, today’s walkers would not know when they are in the Jewish quarter unless they looked closely. Take this building, for instance…

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Looks just like yet any other ornamented Budapest building, right? With typically charming details? Such as this creature atop the roof at the corner…

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And these figures flanking the balcony…

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But wait… Do you see the Jewish stars worked into the column capital holding up the balcony? And look at this fellow! I’d bet my beard he’s an orthodox rabbi!

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One of the interesting things about architecture in Budapest in general, and the Dohany Street synagogue in particular is the Islamic influence often visible–the “Moorish Byzantine” style. Here we see it in the main facade with its minaret-like towers and the eight-pointed star over the doorway.

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Before we go inside, perhaps a word about the Jews of Hungary and in particular, Budapest. Over the centuries, there were ups and downs in the repression of the Jewish people and restrictions in where they were allowed to live. Both Buda and Pest were for a long time off limits to Jews, whose main community was in the Obuda (Old Buda) area. But in the 19th century, these restrictions were lifted, and Jews were given equal rights with all other people.

Before World War II, over 200,000 Jews lived in Budapest. This population swelled with the influx of refugees just before and in the early part of the war. Even though Hungary was allied with Germany, it did not enforce anti-Jewish legislation until German Nazi occupation of Hungary in March 1944. Many thousands of Jews were transported to concentration camps or forced into slave labor. A ghetto was established. Thousands were then taken from the ghetto and shot, and their bodies dumped into the river.

When the Soviets liberated Budapest in March, 1945, fewer than 100,000 Jews remained in the ghetto.

The Jewish population of Hungary, which was over 440,000 in 1930, and 165,000 in 1945, has today shrunk to fewer than 50,000 people.

The Dohany Street synagogue is one of the few still in use. Seating some 6,000 people, it is the largest synagogue in Europe and the third largest in the world. It was built from 1854-59, during the heyday of the Hungarian enlightenment, and served a branch of Judaism that reflected this enlightened attitude. And look at the beautiful interior!

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In the courtyard of the synagogue is a solemn and shady garden where over 2,000 Jews who died in the ghetto in the winter of 1944-45 are buried.

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Behind the synagogue is the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park, which contains the “Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs,” commemorating the more than 400,000 Hungarian Jews who died in the concentration camps. The memorial is a tremendously moving metal weeping willow tree whose every metal leaf contains the name of a person who died.

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Prague — the Jewish quarter

After these various and lovely churches, it seems time to turn to the synagogues of Prague. A visit to the Jewish Quarter is in order.

As everywhere in the historical center of Prague, the streets are charming.

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But there is a bit of a twist–Jewish themes appear here and there in the building adornment.

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Here, the ladies gracing the entryway are modestly attired, and they’re wearing hats, in stark contrast to the nudes and near-nudes elsewhere in the city. Also, look closely at this detail. Is that a pile of *coins* by the Star of David?

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And of course, inevitably, some of the retail establishments also take advantage of their location. Here we have (in translation) the “Restaurant at the Old Synagogue.” It’s quite pretty, actually.

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The Jewish community, though located in and associated with Prague, had its own government. The town hall has a clock tower–of course–and also an additional clock with Hebrew letters that runs–you guessed it–counterclockwise.

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The Old New Synagogue was built in 1270. And yes, there was an Old Synagogue, but it was demolished in the nineteenth century. I was unable to determine which, if any, of the other synagogues might be the *New* New Synagogue.

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The Spanish Synagogue, built in 1868, did not house a Spanish or Sefardic congregation, but the name refers to the Moorish style of architecture, as ornate on the inside as on the outside.

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The Maisel Synagogue, built in 1590, was named after the mayor of the Jewish town, Mordechai Maisel, who funded its construction. Damaged by fire, it was completely rebuilt (preserving only the floor plan) at the end of the nineteenth century.

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Originally built in 1535, after the second world war the Pinkas synagogue was turned into a memorial for the eighty thousand Jews of Moravia and Bohemia (parts of the Czech Republic) who were murdered by the Nazis. Its walls are covered with their names. So many, so many…

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Appropriately, from this synagogue visitors can walk through the Jewish Cemetery (see the next post), coming out near the Ceremonial Hall (belonging to the Burial Society).

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The Klausen Synagogue, the largest in the ghetto, now contains a permanent exhibition of Jewish traditions and customs.

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Like Dan, you don’t have to be Jewish to be fascinated by the richness of this quarter. And like him, you don’t even have to like museums very much to be interested in the exhibits and the buildings. All these locations, as well as the Jewish Cemetery shown in the next post, may be visited with a single ticket purchased from the Jewish Museum of Prague, which is doing a wonderful job of preserving Prague’s Jewish heritage.

Marrakech — the synagogue

It’s the story of our street wandering everywhere in Morocco. We’re wending our way somewhere. We have a map (for what that might be worth) and so we sort of know the way. And it’s okay with us if we wander a bit while we’re going.

And from nowhere there arrives a bold, charming, friendly, and above all, insistent little boy who offers to take us where he thinks we ought to be going.

“Synagogue,” he insists. “Would you like to see the synagogue? This way! Follow me, please.”

It’s kind of like the Borg on Star Trek. Resistance is futile. “Please. Yes. Take us to the synagogue.”

And after a few attempted stops at his uncle’s rug shop and his cousin’s restaurant, the boy does just that, and we give him the customary tip.

To our surprise, we’ve come upon an old and active Jewish congregation–the Lazama Synagogue, founded by Jews from Spain who arrived in 1492, and still attended regularly by many of the three hundred or so Jews who still live in Marrakech. It’s very, very orthodox, with an outer courtyard that has separate galleries for the women. And it’s very Moroccan in style, Jewish in concept, blue and white in color. And lovely.

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