Budapest, Hungary
These are a few pictures I shot with my casual-use camera Fujifilm X30 in a little-known synagogue of Budapest, the Kazinczy utca [street] Orthodox Synagogue (Kazinczy utca zsinagóga). Although I have stayed repeatedly in this enjoyable city, I never visited the main synagogue during my free time, maybe because that's such a tourist hotspot (and I stay away from mass tourism as much as I can). I discovered this smaller synagogue by chance, possibly on my way to Szimpla, and it's a rare gem for its architectural and interior decoration. While I'm not someone spending much time in museums, churches and temples, i can understand why some of these places make you feel special, and the Kazinczy synagogue is such a special place.
Hungary doesn't enjoy a very good press abroad for some reason, I mean in Western Europe and the West in general, and I've read awful things on the country in newspapers that were considered reliable in the past, stories (or rather pamphlets) where you end up with the impression of a country bubbling with antisemitism, it's pretty sad, Budapest is certainly among the safest in Europe for jews, and unlike France, England, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Sweden (Sweden !) or even New York, recognizable jews can walk along the streets without fearing for their safety. When a similarly biased newspaper ends up addressing the issue of violent attacks against jews in Western Europe (like here), it does everything it can, dancing around the issue, to avoid naming the elephant in the room behind this hatred and tries to mislead the reader (but everyone living there knows what is going on).
But anyway all this divisive media noise about Budapest fades away when you spend some time in this city, and special places like this one help. This orthodox synagogue was badly damaged during WW2 (an era when most of the local jews were deported and killed) and later restored to its former glory, with painted Art Nouveau patterns on the walls, ceiling and columns. It is often empty, don't miss it, the visit cost only 1000 Forits or 3 €.
Directions for the Kazinczy utca Synagogue
