“The history of synagogues in Eastern Central Europe is not merely an academic issue. Nor is it a dry chapter in the general history of architecture, but a relatively vivid witness to the cultural interactions between Jews and many ethnic groups and non-Jewish religious communities in a particular area… Synagogues embodied hope and faith in a more advanced , a more reasonable and just world.” (Rudolf Klein)
The documentary exhibition Synagogues in Eastern Central Europe between 1782 and 1944 by Rudolf Klein presents both preserved and disappeared synagogues in the area of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, the typology of their architectural features and their involvement in space and time.
In the life of Jews in the Diaspora, the synagogue occupies a central place. This is not only a place of the Lord’s presence, but also a place for the gathering of community members, or a place of prayer and a house of learning. As a type of building, it was probably created during the Babylonian exile, when Jews could not visit Solomon’s Temple. The typological development of synagogues in Eastern Central Europe from the late 18th century until the Holocaust was connected with the gradual improvement of the social position of the Jews who lived in this area. Thus, for example, in the 18th century, synagogues were built in courtyards and far away from the centers of settlements, after 1840, when Jews could settle without restrictions even in free imperial cities in the Habsburg monarchy, they were built more and more towards the edge of the land, closer street, and from 1880 onwards they already controlled their immediate surroundings. During this time, they also lost their previous codification and became a free combination of compositional and stylistic elements with different construction systems. They differed in size, location and relationship to the surroundings, and their design diversity revealed the individual expressions of the communities that built them.
During the Second World War and after it, many of the synagogues shown in the exhibition were demolished, but among those preserved today, many are intended for cultural use only. Regardless of whether the synagogues are in ruins or can be admired in their former beauty, they are extremely moving witnesses to the original glory of a tragically destroyed culture, reminding us of the immensity of its loss.
With the opening of this visiting exhibition, the European Days of Jewish Culture 2015 project, which this year is dedicated to the theme “Bridges”, also officially began. The project takes place in Slovenia between 3 and 29 September in Maribor, Murska Sobota, Lendava, Negova and Ljubljana. At the opening, the assembled audience was addressed by mr. Szabolcs Takács, State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary and Ministerial Commissioner for the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA), and dr. Sašo Gazdić, Head of the Department for Cultural Diversity and Human Rights at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. The visitors were also greeted by dr. Smiljana Knez, head of the Department for Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and head of the Slovenian delegation at IHRA.
The opening was followed by a concert of Jewish music performed by Zoltán Neumark (piano) and Judit Klein (vocals).
We prepared the project in cooperation with the Embassy of Hungary in Slovenia. It was supported by the Municipality of Maribor and Hungary, which presided over the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) in 2015.
