Dózsa György Street Synagogue

Dózsa György Street Synagogue
Dózsa György Street Synagogue
Hungarian: Dózsa György úti zsinagóga
	The façade of the former synagogue in 2015
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism (former)
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue (1909–c. 1939); Indoor sports center (since 1984);
Status	Inactive (as a synagogue);; Repurposed;
Location
Location	55 Dózsa György Street (formerly Aréna Street), Újlipótváros, XIII District, Budapest 1134
Country	Hungary
	Location of the former synagogue in Budapest
Geographic coordinates	47°31′21″N 19°04′02″E / 47.52239°N 19.06732°E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Lipót Baumhorn (1909); László Benczúr (1984);
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Art Nouveau
Completed	1909
Capacity	800 seats

The Dózsa György Street Synagogue (Hungarian: Dózsa György úti zsinagóga), or Angyalföld Synagogue,^[2] is a former Orthodox Jewish synagogue located on Dózsa György Street (formerly Aréna Street), in Újlipótváros, in the XIII District of Budapest, in Hungary. Completed as a synagogue in 1909, used as a concentration camp during World War II, and subsequently for profaned use, the building was repurposed in 1984 as an indoor sports center by the Budapest Honvéd Sports Association as a fencing hall.^[3]

The congregation continues to worship in the cultural hall located on the site; led by Rabbi Peter Deutsch.^[4]

History

The synagogue was built to serve the Jews of northern Pest after the failure of the Lipótvár synagogue's plan next to the then Aréna Street (now György Dózsa Street). The plot, opposite the former Jewish cemetery, was on the other side of the road and was purchased on February 27, 1907. Construction was started this year according to the plans of Lipót Baumhorn, and the synagogue was completed in 1909. Dr. Hevesi Simon and Wilheim Joachim inaugurated the house of worship.

At the end of World War II, during 1944–45, the building was used as a collection camp, and after the fighting ended, it was once again a prayer house. However, by the end of the 1940s, the Jewish community, which had shrunk as a result of emigration, had used the synagogue as a storehouse in the former cultural hall.

Ownership of the building was awarded to the Honvéd Budapest in 1984; after the renovation and rebuilding, its boxing and fencing department was established here.^[5]

The building

The building of the synagogue consists of a central square in the middle, a foyer and a shrine. The central square is covered by a circular dome. Out of a total of 800 seats, 406 are on the ground floor and the other on the first floor. The interior walls were decorated with geometric motifs in yellow, blue, red and brown.

After the Honvéd took over the building, it was renovated and rebuilt internally. During the reconstruction carried out according to the plans of László Benczúr, two new slabs were installed, which provided three levels of training. During the design of the floor, the new elements could be demolished without damaging the old elements of the building. During the renovation, the old colors were used to decorate the interior, but only the geometric shapes, the original sacred symbols, were not restored.^[6]

Gallery

Sources

^ "Angyalföld (Arena St., Dózsa György St.) Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary". Historic synagogues of Europe. Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. n.d. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
^ Migliori, Michele. "Discovering Budapest's former synagogues: Angyalföld (Dózsa György) synagogue". Jewish Heritage Europe. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
^ Gyula, Reiz (July 21, 2021). "There is a fencing room in the synagogue in Angyalföld". PestBuda. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
^ "Rólunk" [About us]. Dózsa György Street Synagogue (in Hungarian). Retrieved December 30, 2011.^{[dead link]}
^ "Vívóterem lett a hajdani zsinagógából" [The former synagogue became a fencing hall] (in Hungarian). hg.hu. September 8, 2011. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
^ "100 éves a Dózsa György úti zsinagóga" [The Dózsa György út synagogue is 100 years old] (in Hungarian). MAZSIHISZ. August 28, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

External links

Bence, Rátkai (May 4, 2017). A budapesti Dózsa György úti zsinagóga múltja és jelene (Streaming video) (in Hungarian). Judit Körner – via YouTube.
"Home page". Budapesti Honvéd SE. 2024.

[1] "Angyalföld (Arena St., Dózsa György St.) Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary". Historic synagogues of Europe. Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. n.d. Retrieved July 13, 2024.

[2] Migliori, Michele. "Discovering Budapest's former synagogues: Angyalföld (Dózsa György) synagogue". Jewish Heritage Europe. Retrieved July 13, 2024.

[3] Gyula, Reiz (July 21, 2021). "There is a fencing room in the synagogue in Angyalföld". PestBuda. Retrieved July 13, 2024.

[4] "Rólunk" [About us]. Dózsa György Street Synagogue (in Hungarian). Retrieved December 30, 2011.^{[dead link]}

[5] "Vívóterem lett a hajdani zsinagógából" [The former synagogue became a fencing hall] (in Hungarian). hg.hu. September 8, 2011. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2011.

[6] "100 éves a Dózsa György úti zsinagóga" [The Dózsa György út synagogue is 100 years old] (in Hungarian). MAZSIHISZ. August 28, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

History

The building

Gallery

See also

Sources

External links