Szeged zsidó vallási épületeinek öröksége

The Jewish Community of Szeged has a history of nearly two and a half centuries. The New Synagogue (1899–1903) is the most remarkable architectural monument and one of the world's most beautiful synagogues. Its predecessors in the city are two small synagogues built on the same plot 100 and 60 years earlier (1803; 1843). The New Synagogue's designer, Lipót Baumhorn (1860–1932), was known as the most successful synagogue architect of his time. He planned 26 synagogues in the former Hungarian Kingdom (as part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy). Out of these, 22 were built between 1886 and 1932. In Szeged, there are seven secular buildings designed by him, the most impressive of which are the former headquarters of the Szeged-Csongrád Savings Bank and the headquarters of the Jewish community next to the synagogue. He also designed the ceremonial building of the Jewish cemetery. Baumhorn, during the construction of the New Synagogue in Szeged, worked closely with chief rabbi and scholar dr. Immánuel Löw, who applied his immense knowledge in linguistics, the study of religions and botanics to the decoration of the synagogue. Löw also designed the synagogue garden as an organic part of the synagogue, presenting the flora of Israel and Hungary. Our study presents Szeged's synagogues, the community headquarters and the cemetery's ceremonial hall from an architectural and cultural-historical perspective, highlighting the emergence of Jewish ideas in turn-of-the-century architecture.