Completed in 1859, this synagogue is the second largest in the world (the largest being in New York). The onion domes are strikingly Oriental-Byzantine, as is the facade: the patterns in the brickwork were inspired by ancient ruins in the Middle East. But for all its exoticism, the design also expresses 19th century Hungarian Jews' aspirations toward assimilation. The twin towers, for instance, evoke church steeples, and the organ inside the synagogue is a clear cosncession to Christian tradition (one that provoked spirited opposition from Orthodox Jews). During WWII, the Germans turned the synagogue into a detention camp. Some of the 3,000 Jews who did not survive the privations of the ghetto are buried in the adjoining courtyard. One ticket entitles you to see the synagogue and the adjacent Jewish Museum (see below), which has the same hours. For more information, contact the Jewish Information Center at VII. Síp u. 12, tel. (+36-1) 462-0477, www.jewinform.hu.
