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A walk through history! The Jewish Quarter of Pest
Listed under Guided Walking in Budapest, Hungary.
Budapest, with the largest Jewish community in Central Europe, and an active religious, artistic and historical heritage. We will show you the city's sites of Jewish interest, such as the world famous Dohany Synagogue. the Rumbach and the Kazinczy Street orthodox temple. Within the same building complex as the Dohany Synagogue is the Jewish Museum as well as other sites such as the Temple of Heroes, the Tree of Life, the Wallenberg Park and the Carl Lutz Memorial can be found nearby on Dob Street.
This area of the Hungarian capital may not be as famous as Castle Hill, Vaci Street or Heroes' Square, but for visitors looking to gain some insight into the country's history, it shouldn't be left out.
Established at the turn of the 19th century when the Jewish community gathered in the 7th District along the road leading to the bridge that crosses the Danube. The center of this area became Kiraly Street.
In 2002 this historic neighborhood bordered by Kiraly and Csanyi Street, Klauzal Square, Kisdiofa and Dohany Street and Károly Boulevard was named the old Jewish Quarter of Pest and was entered into the World Heritage Conservation Zone.
This area is home to most of the city's Jewish cultural heritage sites, including the famous "Synagogue Triangle." (This was also where in 1944 the Pest Ghetto was built, crowding 70.000 people together.)
At Dohany Street 2. you will find the world's second largest and Europe's largest synagogue, the Dohany Street Synagogue. The site of this building is also the birthplace of Theodor Herzl, Father of Zionism. In the garden is the Martyrs' Cemetery and the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial. Adjacent to the temple is the Jewish Museum.
The second point of the Triangle is the synagogue on Rumbach Street, also known as "the little synagogue."
The third point is the Kazinczy Street Orthodox Synagogue. This area is home to kosher shops and Budapest's only mikveh (ritual bath).
This historic district, as a part of the city's rehabilitation strategy, started to to look towards youth culture and tourism in recent years: from 2002 some now very popular cafes, bars and summer music venues opened in buildings that were earlier considered for demolition: the Szimpla-garden, the Gozsdu Mano Klub, or the Kőleves (Stone Soup) -garden to name a few.
Since then the area, especially Kazinczy Street is not only known for its rich cultural heritage, but for it's unique cultural present, with "ruin pubs," art and design shops, like the Kék Ló (Blue Horse) and Printa graphic design studio which incidentally also function as pubs/cafes.
Tours depart from in front of the Dohany Synagogue (Dohany Street 2.)
Transportation: Metro Line 2. Astoria Station
Hours: Tours leave at 10:00 and 14:00 Mondays to Thursdays, at 10:00 on Fridays from the 1st of May until the 31st of October except on Jewish holidays.
Written by Andorka.
sorry, broken link in the article, it's supposed to be www.jewish.hu
Andorka - posted 13th January 2013
Andorka
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