SPECIAL EDITION: The only Mikvah in Town
Even the producers of IN YOUR POCKET guides have admitted that Budapest is their favorite city in Central Europe - and they are not alone. When I had to decide on a place to settle five years ago, the choice was obvious for me - no other capital city in Europe was able to offer me such a unique blend of magnificent setting & architecture, culture and wellness. The 123 thermal springs under the city alone turn the metropolis of 2 million into a gigantic spa. And nothing beats riding my bike along the Danube embankment in summer time.
Well, times have changed. Incompetent government, corruption, economic crisis and an overall Hungarian tendency to pessimism and negativity have soured the mood considerably in recent years. Underlying layers of repressed aggression, frustration and neurosis may be witnessed daily, but that alone would not make me leave. The threat of fascism does. The rise of Jobbik and Magyar Garda in recent years does not bode well for a country so ill prepared for democracy and civil rights. It all conjures up images of Germany during the late Weimar Republic in the early 1930s. When hate-mongering against Roma, Jews and GLBT minorities gain momentum even in right-wing intellectual circles, then any self-respecting intelligent individual with respect for freedom and human dignity would wish to seek the first best exit route.
Yet there is hope that this latest love affair with extremism in Hungary will be short-lived, and once economic conditions improve, the air will clear and bring out the best in the Magyar people - a dynamic air of hope, optimism, progress and individual freedom to bring Magyarorszag forward and back into the community of European nations. As a testament to this dynamic, vibrant, multicultural, diverse Hungary, I decided to present this SPECIAL EDITION of EuroQuest SideTracks on the VII. District in Budapest, the former Jewish Quarter and one of the most dynamic neighborhoods of Hungary's capital city. Most visitors to Budapest will stick to the tourist highlights around the Buda Hill, Heroes Square, the Parliament and Vaci utca - few will venture further. A walk around Erzsébetváros, Elizabeth Town, as the VII. District is known in Hungarian, reveals not just the city's diverse ethnic and cultural background, tragic past and recent tribulations, but is also indicative of the very dynamism, renewal and air of change one would wish for the entire city and the country as a whole.
Our natural point of departure is the GREAT DOHANY SYNAGOGUE, the second largest in the world after the Temple Emmanuel in New York. Built in 1859 as a neolog synagogue in Moorish-Byzantine style, it can seat up to 6000 people with separate seating areas for men and women, services held in Hebrew and a gigantic 5000-pipe organ. Right next door we find the JEWISH MUSEUM with interesting exhibits on Budapest's Jewish community, settling and thriving in this part of town until the late arrival of the Holocaust here 1944-45, when the entire area was turned into a ghetto for 70000 Jews to be shipped to Extermination Camps, many to Auschwitz. Fortunately, the pending end of WWII prevented that fate for many, and Budapest's Jewish community emerged from WWII in relatively better shape than Jews elsewhere in Europe. A plaque on Wesselényi utca commemorates the entrance gate to the Budapest ghetto with the GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE behind it, a type of Jewish cemetery for those who perished during the Holocaust here. In the back of the GREAT SYNAGOGUE we see the 30 000 leaves of the TREE of LIFE on Raoul Wallenberg Square, named after the Swedish Diplomat who saved many Jewish lives from deportation in 1944/45.
Turning left at the next corner on Rumbach utca and then one block further right on Dob utca, we reach another memorial to an influential diplomat, Swiss CARL LUTZ (1895-1975) who helped many Jews escape to Palestine. His memorial, a gilded tree-like sculpture against a white wall, is accompanied by a plaque that says in Hebrew: "He who saves but one man is as if he saved the entire world". As we return to Rumbach utca, we reach the SMALL RUMBACH SYNAGOGUE, completed by Viennese OTTO WAGNER in 1872 with minaret-style towers and intended for a unified Jewish community, who rejected the split between neolog and orthodox Jewry in the 19th century.
After this good introduction to Jewish Budapest, we delve right into the culinary delights of the VII. District and head to nearby Kiraly utca and LA PETITE FRANCAISE - a gemstone of a cafe, shop and patio in central Pest. Pastries are a delight here too, and if there is still room for seconds, KIRALY CUKRAZDA further down on Kiraly utca would be second choice. Here we find a fascinating set of inner couryards, the GOZSDU COURTYARDS, an exemplary urban renewal program - somewhat reminiscent of the Hackesche Hoefe project in Berlin. Here we find secluded courtyards with cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries.
Turning left inside the courtyard network and crossing over HOLLO utca, we take a bypass over to Kazinczy utca, where more of Budapest's avantgarde venues can be found - the former parking lot turned courtyard cafe of Koleves, with a small restaurant of the same name next door at the corner of Kazinczy and Dob utca. For lovers of Hungarian food, this is among the best in the area. From here we can take a detour two blocks down to KLAUZál TER, a well maintained square and park featuring a monument commemorating the 1848/49 revolution against the Habsburgs. Right across we see the entrance to the Klauzál Square Market Hall- not as picturesque as the Nagyvasarcsarnok, but far more intimate and local in flavor.
Returning to Kazinczy utca and our original Jewish theme, we can admire the Orthodox Synagogue at Kazinczy utca 27, originally dating to 1770-80 and rebuilt in Art Nouveau style. As a unique venue for the Hungarian Orthodox Jewry, a synthesis of Ashkenazy and Hassidic influences, it features a prayer room, school, kosher restaurant and the only mikvah in town. Now, towards the end of our exploration, we are close to some of the best local food joints and pubs in Budapest - so the best way to end our tour is to go for a TACO or BURRITO at EL RAPIDO Grill and Deli - and then to our very own and favorite hangout - SZIMPLA - there SIMPLY is no place like this one- a set of old bohemian-type courtyards with a fun, laid back, eclectic crowd enjoying drinks, warm ambience and the company of friends. If just all of Budapest could be this mellow and upbeat!
Well, times have changed. Incompetent government, corruption, economic crisis and an overall Hungarian tendency to pessimism and negativity have soured the mood considerably in recent years. Underlying layers of repressed aggression, frustration and neurosis may be witnessed daily, but that alone would not make me leave. The threat of fascism does. The rise of Jobbik and Magyar Garda in recent years does not bode well for a country so ill prepared for democracy and civil rights. It all conjures up images of Germany during the late Weimar Republic in the early 1930s. When hate-mongering against Roma, Jews and GLBT minorities gain momentum even in right-wing intellectual circles, then any self-respecting intelligent individual with respect for freedom and human dignity would wish to seek the first best exit route.
Yet there is hope that this latest love affair with extremism in Hungary will be short-lived, and once economic conditions improve, the air will clear and bring out the best in the Magyar people - a dynamic air of hope, optimism, progress and individual freedom to bring Magyarorszag forward and back into the community of European nations. As a testament to this dynamic, vibrant, multicultural, diverse Hungary, I decided to present this SPECIAL EDITION of EuroQuest SideTracks on the VII. District in Budapest, the former Jewish Quarter and one of the most dynamic neighborhoods of Hungary's capital city. Most visitors to Budapest will stick to the tourist highlights around the Buda Hill, Heroes Square, the Parliament and Vaci utca - few will venture further. A walk around Erzsébetváros, Elizabeth Town, as the VII. District is known in Hungarian, reveals not just the city's diverse ethnic and cultural background, tragic past and recent tribulations, but is also indicative of the very dynamism, renewal and air of change one would wish for the entire city and the country as a whole.
Our natural point of departure is the GREAT DOHANY SYNAGOGUE, the second largest in the world after the Temple Emmanuel in New York. Built in 1859 as a neolog synagogue in Moorish-Byzantine style, it can seat up to 6000 people with separate seating areas for men and women, services held in Hebrew and a gigantic 5000-pipe organ. Right next door we find the JEWISH MUSEUM with interesting exhibits on Budapest's Jewish community, settling and thriving in this part of town until the late arrival of the Holocaust here 1944-45, when the entire area was turned into a ghetto for 70000 Jews to be shipped to Extermination Camps, many to Auschwitz. Fortunately, the pending end of WWII prevented that fate for many, and Budapest's Jewish community emerged from WWII in relatively better shape than Jews elsewhere in Europe. A plaque on Wesselényi utca commemorates the entrance gate to the Budapest ghetto with the GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE behind it, a type of Jewish cemetery for those who perished during the Holocaust here. In the back of the GREAT SYNAGOGUE we see the 30 000 leaves of the TREE of LIFE on Raoul Wallenberg Square, named after the Swedish Diplomat who saved many Jewish lives from deportation in 1944/45.
Turning left at the next corner on Rumbach utca and then one block further right on Dob utca, we reach another memorial to an influential diplomat, Swiss CARL LUTZ (1895-1975) who helped many Jews escape to Palestine. His memorial, a gilded tree-like sculpture against a white wall, is accompanied by a plaque that says in Hebrew: "He who saves but one man is as if he saved the entire world". As we return to Rumbach utca, we reach the SMALL RUMBACH SYNAGOGUE, completed by Viennese OTTO WAGNER in 1872 with minaret-style towers and intended for a unified Jewish community, who rejected the split between neolog and orthodox Jewry in the 19th century.
After this good introduction to Jewish Budapest, we delve right into the culinary delights of the VII. District and head to nearby Kiraly utca and LA PETITE FRANCAISE - a gemstone of a cafe, shop and patio in central Pest. Pastries are a delight here too, and if there is still room for seconds, KIRALY CUKRAZDA further down on Kiraly utca would be second choice. Here we find a fascinating set of inner couryards, the GOZSDU COURTYARDS, an exemplary urban renewal program - somewhat reminiscent of the Hackesche Hoefe project in Berlin. Here we find secluded courtyards with cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries.
Turning left inside the courtyard network and crossing over HOLLO utca, we take a bypass over to Kazinczy utca, where more of Budapest's avantgarde venues can be found - the former parking lot turned courtyard cafe of Koleves, with a small restaurant of the same name next door at the corner of Kazinczy and Dob utca. For lovers of Hungarian food, this is among the best in the area. From here we can take a detour two blocks down to KLAUZál TER, a well maintained square and park featuring a monument commemorating the 1848/49 revolution against the Habsburgs. Right across we see the entrance to the Klauzál Square Market Hall- not as picturesque as the Nagyvasarcsarnok, but far more intimate and local in flavor.
Returning to Kazinczy utca and our original Jewish theme, we can admire the Orthodox Synagogue at Kazinczy utca 27, originally dating to 1770-80 and rebuilt in Art Nouveau style. As a unique venue for the Hungarian Orthodox Jewry, a synthesis of Ashkenazy and Hassidic influences, it features a prayer room, school, kosher restaurant and the only mikvah in town. Now, towards the end of our exploration, we are close to some of the best local food joints and pubs in Budapest - so the best way to end our tour is to go for a TACO or BURRITO at EL RAPIDO Grill and Deli - and then to our very own and favorite hangout - SZIMPLA - there SIMPLY is no place like this one- a set of old bohemian-type courtyards with a fun, laid back, eclectic crowd enjoying drinks, warm ambience and the company of friends. If just all of Budapest could be this mellow and upbeat!
It is with a sense of nostalgia and melancholy that I am presenting this week's SPECIAL EDITION of EuroQuest SideTracks on the VII. District in Budapest, the former Jewish Quarter, coinciding with the Neo-fascist JOBBIK's strong showing during the recent elections in Hungary.
ReplyDeleteMay this article and the concommitant pictures serve as another reminder and proof of this city's unique and diverse blend of cultures, traditions and beliefs that, we hope, no right-wing movement can silence, suppress or persecute - ever again.
Very moving and thought-filled. It makes one think. Thanks for another great blog.
ReplyDelete