Pécs Synagogue, Romanticist synagogue in Kossuth Square, Pécs, Hungary
Pécs Synagogue is a Romanticist building on the east side of Kossuth Square, measuring 23.36 by 32.35 metres. Its main facade is divided into three parts, with a clock in the upper semicircular tympanum surrounded by a Hebrew inscription whose letters give the construction year 1868. The interior has three sections, with 448 seats for men on wooden benches and galleries for 476 women.
The synagogue was built in 1868–69 to designs by Frigyes Feszl, Károly Gerster and Lipót Kauser, and was consecrated on 22 July 1869 by rabbis from Szeged, Augsburg and Pécs. It was enlarged in 1905 to plans by Lipót Baumhorn. About ninety percent of Pécs's 3,000 Jews perished in the Holocaust, and facade restoration began in 1980–83.
The synagogue takes its Hebrew name from Isaiah: "For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples," inscribed around the clock in the upper tympanum, where the letters also give the year 628 (1868). Services are still held here on the major Jewish holidays, and a Jewish school next to the building remains active.
The building can be visited, though opening hours are limited and change depending on the season. It is best to check current availability in advance, as the space is sometimes used for events.
The organ, built by the Angster firm, was installed in March 1869, before the synagogue's dedication in July. The interior also holds the Book of Tears, listing the names of 3,022 Jews deported mainly to Auschwitz.
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