This is the Dohány Street synagogue in Budapest. ‘Dohány’ means tobacco. When the synagogue was constructed (1854-59) there was a cigar factory further down the street and they used the name.
Inside there is a balcony and upper balcony, very light and airy, built in iron. Building in iron was a new technique at the time. It’s much like the museum in Edinburgh and Crystal Palace in London, also keen to using this new building technique,
The architect of the synagogue was not Jewish and put in some Catholic features that suited the assimilated community. For example, the bima where readers stand is not in the centre of the room. Instead it is near the front behind a low grill. And there are pulpits and an organ.
The minaret-looking towers are the reason the building is still standing. When the Germans were retreating they destroyed everything. But not the synagogue because they were using the towers as aerials for radio communication.
After the Germans left, the Hungarian Arrow Cross fascists shot Jews out of hand on the streets of Budapest.. After the war 2,281 victims were gathered and buried at the side of the synagogue in mass graves.
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