Dohány utcai zsinagóga

Dohány Street Synagogue (Dohány utcai zsinagóga in Hungarian) in Budapest is the largest synagogue in Europe with a capacity of 2,964 seats (1,492 for men on the ground floor and 1,472 in the women's galleries) and is a center of Neolog Judaism. Dohány means tobacco, BTW.

The synagogue was built between 1854 and 1859 in a residential area by the Jewish community of Pest. It was designed by a non-Jewish German-born Austrian architect, Ludwig Förster. 

The building is 75 meters long and 27 meters in width. The style of the Dohány Street Synagogue is Moorish, mixed with Byzantine, Romantic, and Gothic flavors. The characteristic onion-shaped domes sit on the twin octagonal towers that are 43 meters in height. The Central Synagogue in Manhattan, New York City is a sort of copycat of the Dohány Street Synagogue.

Famous Hungarian romantic architect Frigyes Feszl designed the interior by giving the Torah-ark and colorful internal frescoes. 

The Synagogue is comprised of the complex of the Great Synagogue, the Heroes' Temple, the graveyard, the Memorial, and the Jewish Museum, which was built on the site on which Theodor Herzl's house of birth stood. The 5,000-tube organ, which was built in 1859, makes the Synagogue very unique. Famous musicians such as Franz Liszt and Camille Saint-Saëns played there.

Image from a 3D puzzle toy. Now it's on sale (3470 Ft)

The synagogue has gone through a tough time. On the 3rd of February, 1939 it was bombed by the Hungarian pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party. In 1944, the Dohány Street Synagogue was part of the Jewish ghetto for the city Jews, to where 7,000 Jews were sent, according to Adolph Eichmann's plan. Over two thousand of those who died in the ghetto from hunger and cold are buried in the courtyard of the synagogue. 

The synagogue was also used as a shelter, and towards the end of World War II, the building suffered some severe damage from aerial raids during the battle for the liberation of Budapest.

During the Communist era, the damaged structure became again a prayer house for the much-diminished Jewish community. Its restoration and renovation started in 1991, financed by the state and by private donations, and was completed in 1998.
On 23 October 2012, an Israeli flag was burned in front of a Budapest synagogue, reportedly by members of Jobbik, an ultranationalist Hungarian political party. 

Synagoga Tempel w Krakowie

Synagogue temple in Krakow is located in the Kazimierz district in Krakow, Poland. It was built in 1860 - 1862. Among all Synagogues situated in the former Jewish quarter of the town of Kazimierz, this is the most recently built one.

The Moorish Revival building was designed by Polish architect, Ignacy Hercok. The temple, with its tall central section flanked by lower wings, is designed on the pattern of the Leopoldstädter Tempel, in Vienna, Austria. 

At the time the synagogue was built, Kraków was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The richly finished interior is adorned with dense patterns painted in many colors and copious amounts of gold leaf, but the patterns, with the exception of the exquisite Moorish design on the ceiling, are not stylistically Moorish. 

Today's synagogue was shaped in 1924, when ground floor aisles were added, shorter than the former body of the building. During the German occupation in Kraków between 1939 and 1945, the Temple was used as a warehouse and the northern aisle served as a stable for horses. 

The synagogue was ruined during World War II by the German Nazis, who used the building as an ammunition storage area. After the war, it was used again for prayers. 

Tempel Synagogue is not only a major place of worship but also a booming center of Jewish culture, which hosts numerous concerts and meetings, especially during the Festival.

This is one of the most exotic and ornate of all the synagogues in Krakow. I enjoyed visiting there to have a quiet and solemn moment.

The admission fee is 10 Polish zloties (10 PLN). You can enter without wearing a kippah (if you are a male visitor), however, it is under renovation (as of 9th of August, 2017)...

Anthropoid

Swastika and old-fashioned tram

No No No, I am not talking about Apes, cranes or the assessment of the female pelvis in this entry...

In October last year in Prague, I happened to encounter the footage, Anthropoid. 

Official poster-Image from Wiki

When I was in front of the Jubilee Synagogue (Jeruzalémská Synagoga in Czech), a bizarre scene caught my eye. The Hakenkreuz flags were everywhere, streaming in the wind... 

My jaw was about to fall off... Well, my first thought was "Is the Buddhist temple exhibition taking place in Prague???" I finally realized that movie filming was going on when filming crews grabbed my arms and said "You can't cross the street. Hang on here"

The movie is based on the true story of "Operation Anthropoid", the code name for the assassination of SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei Reinhard Heydrich, who is a head of the Reich Main Security Office, RSHA, the combined security services of Nazi Germany and acting Reichsprotektor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

The operation was carried out in Prague on 27 May 1942 after having been prepared by the British Special Operations Executive with the approval of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile. 

Although only wounded in the attack, Heydrich died of his injuries on 4 June 1942. His death led to a wave of merciless reprisals by German SS troops, including the destruction of villages and the killing of civilians.

The film has its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on the 1st of July, 2016, and will be released on the 12th of August this year by Bleecker Street.

It looks like the military alliance between Nazis and Japan. Where is Italian Empire??

Old trams, classic cars, and posters written in German decorated the street.

Jeruzalémská Synagoga In Prague

Although I haven't visited many synagogues, Jubilee Synagogue in Prague is the most impressive one for me. It is also known as the Jerusalem Synagogue because it is located on Jerusalem street (Jeruzalémská).

It is within a few minutes walk from the Prague main station (see the map below). It is open from Sunday to Friday (11:00-17:00) during the summer season.