Jewish Budapest

What to expect

Old Buda: a journey through the centuries
Let's start the tour on the hilly right bank of the Danube, in the city's historic district. Along the way, we will talk about the legends according to which Jews lived in Hungary as early as the 1st century AD, the close connection of the people with the country's destiny, and the first evidence of their settlements in Buda itself. I will show you the prayer house, closed for over 400 years and consecrated in 2018, tell you about the period of the community's flourishing in the Middle Ages and the terrible tragedy of the 17th century. And I will uncover some secrets of Old Buda.

Pest Synagogues
Next, we will move to the Jewish quarter where the ghetto was located during World War II. The focus here will be on three synagogues:

• Dohány Street Synagogue. As a licensed guide, I will personally take you on a tour of Europe's largest synagogue. You will learn about the history of its foundation, admire the impressive facades and interiors. On the complex grounds, you will visit the Jewish Museum, Raoul Wallenberg Park, and see the Tree of Life, on whose petals are engraved the names of Jews who perished during the Holocaust.
• Rumbach Street Synagogue. Also in the program is a masterpiece of religious architecture created at the end of the 19th century by the renowned Austrian architect Otto Wagner.
• Kazinczy Street Orthodox Synagogue. You will explore a building from the early 20th century in the Secession style, and in the synagogue's courtyard, you will find a traditional shtetl (village) with a kosher shop, restaurant, and after-school.

Ruin pubs, flea market, and kosher bakery
Continuing the acquaintance with the Jewish quarter, I will show you an unusual monument to the Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz, who saved more than 60,000 Jews in Budapest. On Király Street, you will immerse yourself in the atmospheric world of ruin pubs, cafes, restaurants, and clubs. We will go out to the most lively street in the city, Kazinczy, where besides nightlife establishments, there is a flea market. And in the kosher bakery on Wesselenyi Street, you will be able to try the author's version of the Hungarian Jewish dessert - flódni, the special pride of all Hungarians.

The walk will end on the Danube embankment at the world-famous Holocaust Memorial, erected in 2005 in memory of the Jews shot in the Budapest ghetto. This is one of the most powerful and saddest monuments in the world.