Dohány Street Synagogue, Budapest

The synagogue in Dohány Street is the largest one still functioning in Continental Europe. The use of two towers with onion-shaped domes, as an architectural feature in synagogues, was employed here for the first time in Hungary; it subsequently had a major influence on the evolution of synagogue architecture in the country regions.

Great Synagogue - Budapest, Dohány Street

The plans for the synagogue were prepared by Ludwig Förster, a Viennese architect. The synagogue, built in a Romantic, Eastern style between1854 and 1859 – also incorporated Byzantine-Moorish elements. The most striking features of its exterior are the onion-domed towers and the decorative patterns of lace-like mouldings on its façade. The renovation of the synagogue was completed in 1988.

Great Synagogue - Budapest, Dohány Street

Entry to both the synagogue, and to the Jewish Museum next-door, can be effected using the same ticket.

The Heroes’ Church, attached to the side of the synagogue, is a memorial to the Jewish dead of the First World War. It was built in 1931, to the design of Lajós Deli and Ferenc Faragó. A memorial cemetery, to the martyrs of the Jewish Ghetto, was established in 1944, adjacent to the sides of the synagogue and the Heroes’ Church.

The Holocaust Memorial, erected in 1989, and the Raul Wallenberg Memorial Garden, can be found in the garden at the back of the synagogue.

The metal “Tree of Life” memorial, created by Imre Varga in the image of a willow-tree, has the name of a different martyr engraved on each of its leaves.

Great Synagogue - Budapest, Dohány Street

Attraction: The Dohány Street Synagogue (Dohány utcai zsinagóga)

Country: Hungary

City: Budapest

Location: Pest, VII. district

Transport: M2: Astoria

Address: Budapest, Dohány utca 2.

Phone: 1/ 342 8949

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Web: http://www.bpjewmus.hu/

Open: Mon-Thu 10-17, Fri 10-15, Sun 10-18, Sat closed

Price: adult 1 200 HUF; student, retired 700 HUF

Guided tours: Single, with guide: adult 1600 - 2600 HUF

Student 1300 - 2300 HUF. Groups, with reservation and guided only: adult 1400 - 2100 HUF, student 1100 - 1700 HUF