The Dohány Street synagogue
The Dohány Street synagogue, constructed between 1844-59, is the second largest synagogue in the world (the largest stands in New York) and can take in 3,000 people. It was built in Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish style, in the wake of Romanticism. Two onion-shaped domes sit on the twin towers at 43 m height; the towers symbolize the two columns of Solomon’s Temple. The building was badly neglected during communist rule, and only relatively recently was restoration completed, funded partly by a foundation set up by Tony Curtis who has Hungarian roots.
Nearly fifty percent of Budapest's Jewish population died during the Holocaust. The percentage would have been higher had it not been for the actions of Raoul Wallenberg, who came to Budapest as secretary of the Swedish Foreign Ministry in July 1944 with instructions to save as many Jews as possible. He issued thousands of Swedish identity documents to Jews to protect them from Nazi deportation and is credited with ultimately saving as many as 100,000 people. He worked with the Swiss consul Charles Lutz, as well as Portuguese and Spanish legations to create "protected" houses and a "protected" ghetto to house the Jews with international identity papers. Wallenberg was last seen leaving the city on January 17, 1945, right after the Soviet army liberated the city. His fate is unknown.
I wanted to capture the trolleybus in the photo. I remember them as a kid but they were all phased out by 1962. I seem to remember that their poles sometimes came off of the wire. They appear to be more reliable these days.
The Dohány Street synagogue
The Dohány Street synagogue, constructed between 1844-59, is the second largest synagogue in the world (the largest stands in New York) and can take in 3,000 people. It was built in Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish style, in the wake of Romanticism. Two onion-shaped domes sit on the twin towers at 43 m height; the towers symbolize the two columns of Solomon’s Temple. The building was badly neglected during communist rule, and only relatively recently was restoration completed, funded partly by a foundation set up by Tony Curtis who has Hungarian roots.
Nearly fifty percent of Budapest's Jewish population died during the Holocaust. The percentage would have been higher had it not been for the actions of Raoul Wallenberg, who came to Budapest as secretary of the Swedish Foreign Ministry in July 1944 with instructions to save as many Jews as possible. He issued thousands of Swedish identity documents to Jews to protect them from Nazi deportation and is credited with ultimately saving as many as 100,000 people. He worked with the Swiss consul Charles Lutz, as well as Portuguese and Spanish legations to create "protected" houses and a "protected" ghetto to house the Jews with international identity papers. Wallenberg was last seen leaving the city on January 17, 1945, right after the Soviet army liberated the city. His fate is unknown.
I wanted to capture the trolleybus in the photo. I remember them as a kid but they were all phased out by 1962. I seem to remember that their poles sometimes came off of the wire. They appear to be more reliable these days.