Budapest Tourism: Dohany Street Synagogue

Video Transcript

"The Dohany Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, also known as the Great Synagogue, is the largest synagogue in Europe and second to the largest one in the world, which happens to be New York City. The Dohany Street Synagogue is located in Belvaros, the inner city of Pest. The architecture of the Dohany Synagogue is in the romantic style. The temple was built between 1854 and 1859. The synagogue has a rich, but sad, history. In March of 1944, Adolf Eichmann arrived with Nazi forces to supervise the establishment of the Jewish ghetto and carry out subsequent deportations. Up to twenty thousand Jews hid inside the synagogue complex, but seven thousand didn't survive the winter of 1945. Visitors can see the courtyard where they're buried, as well as a piece of the original brick ghetto wall. The Dohany synagogue can seat up to three thousand people, and is still used by Budapest's Jewish community."