JEWISH EAST END OF LONDON PHOTO GALLERY & COMMENTARY

London's East End Synagogues, cemeteries and more......

My personal journey through the Jewish East End of London

e.mail thoughts & memories to: Phil Twitter: @Philslondon

 

Jewish Walking tours with Phil - explore your Jewish roots
If you would like me to give you a guided walking tour of the Jewish East End of London or perhaps of Jewish Soho in the West End of London, please get in touch: Phil  Read more about my tours here
Whenever travelling in Europe I try to visit local synagogues.  On my recent journey through Romania and Hungary I was privileged to discover several beautiful synagogues, some functioning and some abandoned as you will see below:

Romania: Brasov's functioning synagogue

Beautiful interior of Brasov's functioning synagogue

 The plaque tells the story of Brasov's only functioning synagogue
Above is the only functioning synagogue in Brasov, Romania.  The legend above right tells you something of its history. 
 
Below is a nearby abandoned orthodox synagogue.  I found it by following the gentleman below up a private gated alleyway at the side of an old house.  At the end of the alleyway I was astonished to discover a still beautiful  but crumbling synagogue. I went inside the main doors which led to a labyrinth of small flats carved out of the interior.
Enter through this door for an amazing discovery Follow up the alleyway...

..and here is the abandoned Orthodox synagogue of Brasov, Romania

 The external decoration of the abandoned Brasov synagogue is largely intact

Abandoned synagogue in Brasov, Romania

The main entrance into the Brasov synagogue leads to a rabbit warren of flats

After Romania I went into Hungary to visit the beautiful city of Pecs to find the huge synagogue below at the end of a long empty square.  As you can see the interior was gorgeous but much in need of restoration.  The gentleman who let me in told me that they only had about 70 elderly members.  On the front of thr building was an astonishing clock: the outer face told the time in the conventional clockwise direction, while a Hebrew clock running anti-clockwise was on the inner face.  It was 26 minutes past 4 in the afternoon when I took the photo, as both the inner and outer clock face will tell you.

Magnificent synagogue in Pecs, Hungary

Clock on Pecs synagogue telling the time clockwise and anti clockwise Pecs synagogue Ark and Bimah

Interior of Pecs synagogue with seating for a thousand or more people - note the two tier ladies gallery. Now only 70 or so members remain

My journey ended in Budapest where every tourist has to visit the famous Dahoney Street synagogue - the largest in Europe, below:

Dahoney Street synagogue - the largest in Europe
Less well known (to me) was an abandoned synagogue close by in Rumbach Sebestyen Street.  I was told it closed during the War.  The plaque on the side of the building tells of the 1941 deportation of 16000 to 18000 Jews from Budapest to the Nazi death camps.

Abandoned synagogue in Rumbach Sebestyen Street, Budapest, close to the Dahoney Street synagogue
Close up of the Ten commandments plaque on top of the abandoned synagogue in Budapest Ten commandments plaque on top of the abandoned synagogue in Budapest
This plaque is on the side of the abandoned synagogue in Rumbach Sebestyen Street, Budapest. It tells of the 1941 deportation of between 16 to 18000 Jews to the Nazi death camps Rumbach Sebestyen Street - the synagogue's address in Budapest, should you wish to visit
On the bank of the Pest side of the River Danube, close to the Hungarian Parliament building, a collection of metal shoes are embedded into the concrete.  These mark the spot where Jews were lined up and shot by Hungarian Nazis and their German friends, their bodies falling into the Danube.

On the bank of the Pest side of the River Danube, close to the Hungarian Parliament building, a collection of metal shoes are embedded into the concrete. These mark the spot where Jews were lined up and shot by Hungarian Nazis and their German friends, their bodies falling into the Danube.

Twitter: @Philslondon

website copyright of Philip Walker