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Rehabilitation of the synagogue on Rumbach Sebestyén utca

Architect

Kőnig Tamás, Wagner Péter

Company

Kőnig és Wagner Építészek

Designed in

2006—2015

Built in

2021

Address

1075 Budapest, Rumbach Sebestyén utca 11–13.

Prizes

Budapest Award of Architectural Excellence, special mention, 2021

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In 1867, the Orthodox Jews living in Budapest commissioned the young architect Otto Wagner through an invited architectural competition to design the synagogue. He, with the collaboration of co-architect Mór Kallina, created one of the highest quality Moorish-Byzantine-inspired structures of Romantic-Eclectic architecture. Following ancient traditions, he designed an octagonal central space with a Torah reading table in the center, surrounded by men's benches, while the women's galleries were formed at the height of the first floor.

On the street façade side, rabbi's flats and educational rooms were attached to the central space on three levels. In 1941, Jews to be deported were forced in the synagogue, from where 20-30 thousand people were transported to extermination camps. Although damaged, the building survived the war, but the dome of the neglected building collapsed in the 1970s. In 1988, the state-owned Alba Regia Állami Építőipari Vállalat (=national construction company) bought the building and started the renovation. The company went bankrupt, and the building was returned to the community. The historic monument research was greatly aided by the fact that many committed members of the Jewish community brought out the decorative elements preserved for decades. Thanks to the work done with great humility and experience by architects, interior designers, and restorers, implemented with the support of the state, it was possible to create a solution suitable for both religious and cultural purposes, and to restore the impressive spatial experience.

Interior designer

Baliga Kornél

Historian

Dávid Ferenc, Sisa József

Garden and landscape design

Holtság Ágnes

architectural assistants

Rimely Ádám, Holtság Ágnes

Architect consultant

Zalka István

Architect’s construction supervisors

Perjés Márk, Ugrin László