Rumbach Street Synagogue

The Rumbach Street synagogue (Hungarian: Rumbach utcai zsinagóga) is located in Belváros, the inner city of the historical old town of Pest, in the eastern section of Budapest. The synagogue in Rumbach Street was built in 1872 to the design of the Viennese architect Otto Wagner.[1] Intentionally meant to serve the members of the Neológ community of Pest, its construction coincided with the Schism in Hungarian Jewry of 1869, and it became the home of the more conservative Status Quo faction.

Rumbach Street Synagogue Status Quo Ante Synagogue
Rumbach utcai Zsinagóga
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism Schism in Hungarian Jewry#The Status Quo
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue
Location
Location	Budapest, Hungary
Geographic coordinates	47°29′52.1″N 19°3′31.8″E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Otto Wagner
Style	Moorish Revival
Groundbreaking	1869
Completed	1872
Specifications
Direction of façade	SW
Length	50 meters (160 ft)
Width	35 meters (115 ft)
Height (max)	28 meters (92 ft)

The Moorish Revival synagogue has eight sides and has recently been restored with a grant from the Budapest Government. The octagonal, balconied, domed synagogue intricately patterned and painted in Islamic style is exquisitely beautiful. It was built not as an exact replica of, but as an homage to the style of the octagonal, domed Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem.

Historically, but especially since the completion of its renovation in the summer of 2021, the synagogue regularly hosts plays, concerts, photo exhibits and other cultural events.[2]

The Rabbi of the Rumbach Street synagogue was Rabbi Shloime Boruch Schmalhausen until the Holocaust and deportation of the Jews of Budapest.[3]