Esztergom Synagogue, former synagogue and house of culture in Esztergom, Hungary
Esztergom Synagogue is a two-storey former synagogue of 1,216 m2, designed by Lipót Baumhorn in the Moorish Revival style and inaugurated in 1888. Two tower-like units jut from both sides of the façade, joined by a triple-arched arcade foyer. The original 1888 marble staircase leads to the upstairs conference room with interpreting booths.
A synagogue was erected on the site in 1858; Lipót Baumhorn, a colleague of Ödön Lechner, designed the new building in the Moorish Revival style as his first solo work, and it was inaugurated in 1888 by Rabbi Ignác Weisz of Esztergom and Rabbi Immánuel Lőw of Szeged. Bombed and badly damaged in World War II, it lost its congregation when about five hundred Jewish residents were deported. The empty building was bought by the city council in 1962 and rebuilt as the House of Technology, inaugurated on 28 September 1964.
The street beside it, Imaház utca ("Meetinghouse street"), keeps the building's original purpose in its name. Since 2006 the municipality has run it as a cultural centre, and the former prayer hall now hosts lectures and conferences; in 2014 the far-right party Jobbik booked it for a rally, which Esztergom residents protested against.
The building stands on Imaház utca, a street name that recalls its original function. The two-storey structure covers 1,216 m2, with two tower-like units flanking the façade joined by a triple-arched arcade foyer. The original 1888 marble staircase still leads up to the first-floor conference room with interpreting booths.
The Martyr Monument in front of the building was erected in 1985 to plans by István Martsa. Its original 2.5 m bronze work was made for the monument competition at Mauthausen and placed in the Hungarian barracks of the Auschwitz camp museum; the pedestal here is a bonfire built of railway sleepers. A plaque on the wall commemorates the deportees.
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