JACOB JR, MY JEWISH WORLD. GREAT SYNAGOGUE III. BUDAPEST/HUNGARY

"And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them," 

Shalom! World. The Dohany Street Synagogue.

The monumental synagogue of ythe Jewish congregation of Pest, inaugurated in 1859. Built in the spirit of reform, it is one of the largest synagogues in europe. Its towers are nearly forty meters high, the building is fifty-three meters long, and it measures twenty-six and a half meters in width.

The tender, which was issued in 1852, invited the participation of the three best architects of the age, Josef Hild, Frigyes Feszl, and Ludwig Forster of Vienna. The commission was awarded to Forster, who had envisioned the synagogue with wrought iron structural supports, a novelty at the time.

Thus, tradition and modernity met in this beautiful edifice.

 The daring technical solutions merged with the oriental style, whose elements were inspired by research into the origin of the Temple of Salomon in Jerusalem.

The high, arched row of arcades as well as the two onion-shaped domes are reflections on the finds of contemporary digs, while the twin towers reminiscent of Catholic churches, act as a symbolic gesture in an age that was marked by the spirit of reform and the striving for equality.

The interior of the synagogue is also reminiscent of a basilica, and the main prayer areadivided into three naves and roofed with a wooden coffered ceiling, is surrounded on three sides by a choir of sorts.

The wrought iron pillars and the light that is allowed to flood the synagogue from above impart a light, airy feel to the space dominated by the Torah tabernacle. Designed by Frigyes Feszl, it is richly ornamented and sports a small onion-dome on top. When the synagogue was inaugurated, Franz Liszt and Saint Saens boyh played on the huge organ with five thousand pipes that has recently been beautiful restored.

The impressive hall, which has over three thousand seats, can accommodate up to six thousand people all told.