Dohány St. Synagogue - Budapest

The are photos of the Dohány St. Synagogue in Budapest. It is the largest Synagogue in Europe and can house 3 000 people. In the 18th century, Jews were banned from Budapest and so, they set up a Jewish Quarter outside the city's boundaries at the time, which is now part of Pest. This synagogue was built in the 19th century, between 1844 and 1859. Built with many of the characteristics of Christian churches, it is a particularly unusual Synagogue. The synagogue has two onion-shaped domes in the Byzantine-Moorish style, which are ment to represent the two columns of Solomon's Temple. During the Second World War, the Nazi established a ghetto for Jews in 1944 and, in addition to those who were deported, thousands died due to the diseases and illnesses that spread on the difficult winter in the ghetto. They are buried in Mass graves behind the synagogue. The synagogue itself was used as military base for the Nazis when they were in Hungary and the building was greatly damaged in that period. In recent years, a huge restoration project was completed.