Pécs Synagogue, Hungary

Pécs Synagogue - details and images

Pécs Synagogue stands on Kossuth Square, only a short walk from Széchenyi Square and the older streets of the city centre. The building dates from the nineteenth century, when the Jewish community of Pécs was growing and its earlier prayer spaces had become too small for the number of worshippers.

Jews had lived in Pécs before the Ottoman period, but their situation changed after the city returned to Christian rule. In 1692, Catholic residents pledged not to allow people of other religions to settle inside the city, and the Jewish community returned only gradually. Restrictions began to disappear during the nineteenth century, while the number of Jewish families increased together with local trade and industry.

The new synagogue was built between 1868 and 1869 from plans prepared by Frigyes Feszl, Károly Gerster and Lipót Kauser. The community raised much of the money, the city supplied building materials and other financial support also helped the project. The synagogue was inaugurated on 22 July 1869 in the presence of rabbis from Pécs, Szeged and Augsburg.

The façade is divided into three sections and has large arched windows. The Tablets of the Law with the Ten Commandments stand at the top, while a Hebrew verse from the Book of Isaiah appears above the clock: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The text gives a simple idea of how the community viewed the purpose of the building.

The interior was designed for a large congregation. Galleries for women rise on two levels and are supported by cast-iron columns, while the decoration combines geometric patterns, Oriental motifs and colours commonly used in Central European synagogues of the second half of the nineteenth century.

The Torah ark is on the eastern side. Nearby is an organ built in 1869 by József Angster, a craftsman who later became known throughout Hungary. It was the first major instrument made by his workshop in Pécs and has two keyboards, 24 stops and 1,534 pipes. The success of this organ helped Angster receive further commissions for churches and halls around the country.

The Second World War changed the life of the community. In 1944, Jews from Pécs and nearby towns were forced into a ghetto and later deported, and many never returned. The Jewish population was far smaller after the war, although the synagogue continued to serve the community.

Repair work began during the 1980s and continued in several stages. The building also contains an exhibition about Jewish life in Pécs and the Baranya region, using documents, photographs and information about families who once lived here.

The synagogue tells a part of the city's history that is less visible in the squares and churches of central Pécs. Its 1869 façade, Angster organ, Hebrew inscriptions and interior galleries belong to the period when the local Jewish community was building its institutions and becoming increasingly involved in the life of the city.

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