abandoned jewish memories

abandoned jewish memories I would show abandoned jewish cemetery synagogue and other thing from jewish past.
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The Erdőbénye community was formed in the early 19th century. The first Jews settled in the village in the 1840s, but by...
18/12/2025

The Erdőbénye community was formed in the early 19th century. The first Jews settled in the village in the 1840s, but by 1880 the community had grown to 332. Their great rabbi, Chaim Friedlander, was an important figure in Tokaj-hegyalja, as he had the Liszkai Rebbe Friedmann Zvi Hirsch as his son-in-law. The flourishing community dwindled by the early 20th century, and during the deportations of 1944, the Hungarian state sent 120 people to their deaths.
The synagogue was demolished in the 1980s, but the cemetery, mikveh, and the school building remained.

The following objects, as well as a piece of the school fence and presumably a candlestick used there, were found in the former beit midrash building in Erdőbénye when it was converted into a private house. The owner lady gave it to me in 2025 and my small team and I placed the finds in the Hungarian Jewish Museum as the only known tangible relics of the Erdőbénye Jewish memory.

In pictures 6-7, the Erdőbénye candlestick and the fence piece of the school
8. The Erdőbénye synagogue (milev)
9-10. The surviving building of the Erdőbénye Jewish school converted into a residential hause building with the Hebrew memory
the text:
"בית מדרש לפק"
"Jewish school according to the small calendar 1884"

The Sárospatak Auth. Orth. Israelite Community had a membership of 1,200 until 1944. The synagogue building, which has r...
09/12/2025

The Sárospatak Auth. Orth. Israelite Community had a membership of 1,200 until 1944.

The synagogue building, which has remained almost entirely, was built in 1864 by the Orthodox community to replace their old church that burned down. After the war, due to reasons related to the commemoration, it ceased to be a sacred space. Like many synagogues in Hungary, it functioned as a furniture exhibition hall and warehouse, and the one in Sárospatak also shares this fate. Today, it houses an electronics store. According to the owner, the original painting can still be seen behind the walls.

The late 18th and early 19th century mikveh building is one of the oldest in the country that has survived. While the street-level part of the building housed the rabbis and the community's offices, the basement level housed the bathhouse itself. The walls, made of a mixture of brick and carved stone, alone proclaim the character of the building from that time, and nothing remains inside that would remind you of its former purpose, yet amidst the garbage-filled spaces and crumbling walls, one feels that this was once a holy place.

The cemetery, which was erected in the early 19th century, with ciduk hadin (funeral home).
If you don’t know where you are and look at the carvings of these stones, you can be sure that you are in or around Tokaj-hegyalja region. The grave of the last Jew from Patak, who passed away in the 1990s, can also be found here.
archive pictures: hungarian jewish museum and archive

Olaszliszka synagogue The synagogue in Olaszliszka was built with the support of Rabbi Zvi Hersh Friedman, the great Has...
24/11/2025

Olaszliszka synagogue

The synagogue in Olaszliszka was built with the support of Rabbi Zvi Hersh Friedman, the great Hasidic rabbi of Olaszliszka, and was completed in 1875, a year after his death. On the main street of Liszka, close to the Catholic church. On the other side of the plot is a steep hill, at the bottom of which is the floodplain of the Bodrog, but the mikveh was also built here.
On the plot of the synagogue building, on the left side, looking from the street front, there is a Passover oven, the rabbi's house, and on the right side, the headquarters of the religious community building.
The famous Hungarian film director Miklós Jancso filmed three short films, and then the 4th time in his documentary film series The Message of the Stones, about the deterioration of the building. Between 1965 and 1994. Jancsó last visited Olaszliszka in 1994. It is a fantastic document, but it is tragic to follow the deterioration of the building throughout.
The synagogue was a building that deteriorated over the decades, and then became a ruin. A monument resembling the building's western wall was built next to the fragmentary eastern wall in 2016. Despite its young age, the monument is already in a very dilapidated state.
The two arihive picutre is from Jancsó movie.

Mikveh in Olaszliszka Excerpt from the legal department of the MIOK (National Representation of Hungarian Jews). "From M...
07/11/2025

Mikveh in Olaszliszka

Excerpt from the legal department of the MIOK (National Representation of Hungarian Jews).

"From Miskolc to Újhely, there is no religious community where religious life is so cherished as in ours. The existing children receive regular religious education. We hold services in the evening and morning. We keep the ritual bath open even with the greatest sacrifice, people from Újhely and Sárospatak come here even though we pay 50-60 forints extra for each bath.
Olaszliszka, May 20, 1955 Ernő Lefkovits, religious community president" 1955
"In addition to the above property, there is a ruined house of the religious community on the banks of the Bodrog, the (ritual bath) building is empty but has been ordered to be demolished, because it is a floodplain." 1973

The ritual bath was located between the Bodrog River and the synagogue. In the summer of 2025, the sacred space, freed from the captivity of plants, awaits its fate.
By 1969, two Jewish families lived in the synagogue and the mikveh was completely abandoned and fell into decay. The Hasidic community of almost 60 families, 7 families, survived the Holocaust.

Olaszliszka Here in the heart of the Tokaj foothills, the center of Hasidism in Hungary, I visited the grave of the grea...
04/11/2025

Olaszliszka

Here in the heart of the Tokaj foothills, the center of Hasidism in Hungary, I visited the grave of the great Rebbe, Steiner Sájele’s master, Herchele, the cemetery and the remaining ruins of his synagogue.

Rabbi Zvi Hersh Friedman
(His grave on the second picutre)

was a prominent Hasidic leader who lived and worked in Liszka in the 1800s. He was one of the most important figures in the Hasidic movement in Hungary. The Lisker Rebbe, his teachings and charismatic personality had a great influence on the Jewish communities of his time. The Rebbe attracted thousands of disciples who made pilgrimages to Olaszliszka to hear his teachings and receive his blessings. The great Keresztúr Rebbe was Steiner Sájele’s master and refers to himself as Herchele’s disciple on the Sájele seal out of respect.
He also mentioned the synagogue, which was built in a grand manner and could accommodate 500 people.
He distributed the money he received from people who came to seek his advice among the poor and supported various programs he initiated. He built himself a modest home to accommodate the many people who visited him and sought his advice.
He died in 1874, on Av 14, thousands gather to pray at his grave, but groups of pilgrims are a daily occurrence.
Although most of the community was destroyed in the inferno of the Holocaust, the dynasty lives on in New York to this day.
# Olaszliszka

In the previous post I showed the synagogue in Hajdúböszörmény, now you can see pictures of the Jewish cemeteries. Here ...
24/10/2025

In the previous post I showed the synagogue in Hajdúböszörmény, now you can see pictures of the Jewish cemeteries. Here is the chief rabbi of Böszörmény, Rabbi Áron Fried, under the ohel.

Áron Fried (1812, Hajdúböszörmény – 1891, Hajdúböszörmény).
He was a student of the famous chief rabbi of Posony, Mózes Szófer (Chatam Szófer), between 1828 and 1831.
In 1833 he married the daughter of Elázár Löw (author of Shemen Rokéách), and lived with her in Abáújszántó.
Between 1837 and 1844 he was the rabbi of Mezőcsát.
Later he was a rabbi in Hajdúsámson (1844-1860), then in his hometown, Hajdúböszörmény (from 1860 until his death). He also served as the chief rabbi of Hajdú-Bihar County.
He actively participated in the organization of the Orthodox Jewish community in Hungary.

The synagogue of Hajdúböszörmény It was built in 1863 by the Hajdúböszörmény Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community in a r...
18/10/2025

The synagogue of Hajdúböszörmény

It was built in 1863 by the Hajdúböszörmény Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community in a romantic neo-Moorish style. It was expanded in 1905, when the interior was painted.

After the German occupation, a ghetto was established in the city. Its only entrance was on the corner of Kassa and Újvárosi Streets, which was constantly watched by gendarmes, as can be seen in one of the pictures. Approximately nine hundred Jews were taken from there at dawn on June 16, 1944, and 653 of them never returned.
The surviving Jews of Böszörmény eventually ran out and the last service was held in 1969. Rabbi József Czitron said goodbye in this way:

"We do not know, my dear believers, where and to what extent our fate will lead us now. If perhaps we have to sacrifice our lives, if we have to die, let us face death bravely, because we know well: the sacrifice is for the holy Torah, for our ancient faith."

Between 1969 and 1989, it was a furniture warehouse, which is why its condition deteriorated and the only part of the interior that remained that was not affected by the warehouse, namely the ceiling, is the last remaining synagogue in the Hajdúváros. In 2016, renovation work was carried out on the outside, but it is still uncertain how long the beautiful ceiling will last. The two towers typical of typical Hajdúság synagogues on the sides were also rebuilt.

The Jewish Cemetery of Gyulafehérvár is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Transylvania. The cemetery was founded in the earl...
14/10/2025

The Jewish Cemetery of Gyulafehérvár is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Transylvania.
The cemetery was founded in the early 18th century, and the earliest document dates from 1752, but it probably existed earlier. It was used continuously from the 18th century to the present day. The number of its tombstones is approximately 2038 graves and 1960 tombstones.
The wealthier families also built impressive crypts in the early 20th century, as can be seen in some photos.
The inscriptions were mainly in Hebrew until the mid-19th century, but later texts in Hungarian, German and Romanian also appeared.


The Alba Iulia SynagogueFollowing up on the previous report about the Alba Iulia Jewish community, I would now like to i...
09/10/2025

The Alba Iulia Synagogue
Following up on the previous report about the Alba Iulia Jewish community, I would now like to introduce you to the synagogue.
Transylvania's Oldest Jewish Community and Synagogue
The oldest, still-active Jewish community and synagogue in Transylvania are located in Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár). The community's history dates back to the principality of Gábor Bethlen (17th century). The current synagogue, also known as Mareh Yezekiel, was the first synagogue in Transylvania built of stone.
Architecture and History
The building was constructed in 1840 during the time of Rabbi Yezechiel Paneth, who was also the Chief Rabbi of Transylvania. Its style is simple, blending Baroque and Neoclassical elements.
On its façade, you can see three metal balls, which are actually three cannonballs that became embedded in the wall during the 1848–1849 War of Independence.
Near the entrance is a room that was formerly used as a prison for those who committed religious offenses.
Current Status
Due to the shrinking size of the Jewish community, religious services are now held only on major holidays or when Jewish groups visit. In recent years, it has undergone a significant renovation and is often used for cultural events and is open to visitors. The small room to the right of the entrance is also used for a museum display.
The synagogue is located in the center of Alba Iulia at 2 Tudor Vladimirescu Street. It is the only synagogue in Alba County.

Ezekiel (Yehezkel) Paneth was one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in Transylvania in the first half of the 1800s. B...
03/10/2025

Ezekiel (Yehezkel) Paneth was one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in Transylvania in the first half of the 1800s.
Born in 1783 in Bielitz, Silesia (now Bielsko-Biała, Poland). As a young man, he studied in Moravia in Leipnik and Prague, and later served as a rabbi in Poland Linsk, Ostrik and Hungary Tarcal. His teachers included the famous Hasidic Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Rimanov.
In 1823, he was elected rabbi of Gyulafehérvár, a position he held until his death in 1845. Since Gyulafehérvár was the only officially authorized Jewish settlement in Transylvania, as rabbi Paneth was practically the national chief rabbi of Transylvania and supervised the Jewish religious life of the area.
He had Hasidic inclinations, and made significant efforts to strengthen religious life and enforce strict religious regulations in the scattered Transylvanian Jewish communities.
His main work is the collection of responsums entitled Mareh Yechezkel (Ezekiel's Vision), which, in addition to representing halachic (legislative) value, is an important source for the history of contemporary Transylvanian Judaism; this book can be seen on his tombstone, held in a hand. The first Transylvanian masonry synagogue was built in 1840 in Gyulafehérvár in his honor. Next to him lies his predecessor Menachem ben Yehoshua Mandel (1818-1823), the previous dayan of the rabbinical court for 24 years. The ohel built in 1879.
On the last picture made by Lajos Erdélyi in the 90's with amazing viewpoint (picutre held by Hungarian Jewish Museum).

Nyíregyháza Orthodox Synagogue​The Nyíregyháza Orthodox Synagogue is a masterpiece by the famous synagogue architect, Li...
29/09/2025

Nyíregyháza Orthodox Synagogue
​The Nyíregyháza Orthodox Synagogue is a masterpiece by the famous synagogue architect, Lipót Baumhorn, built between 1924 and 1932.
​The interior is notable for its vibrant, Art Deco-style painted decoration, which features a unique display in Hungary: instead of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the 12 symbols of the Zodiac come to life.
​A distinctive feature on the women's gallery, opposite the Torah Ark, is a depiction of the animals from the Pirkei Avot tractate of the Talmud:
​"Judah ben Tema said: Be strong as a leopard, and swift as an eagle, and fleet as a gazelle, and brave as a lion, to do the will of your Father who is in heaven."
​The synagogue serves as the community space for the remaining Jewish population of Nyíregyháza. A minyan (a quorum of 10 Jewish men) still gathers for Shabbat and holidays, but the community is diminishing. Two Holocaust survivors passed away this year, leaving only one remaining in the city.
​The last two pictures show the mikveh (ritual bath) and the Passover matzah baking ovens located in the basement found in the courtyard of the Jewish community's headquarters.

Synagogue of KőszegKőszeg is a town of Western Hungary near to the austrian border.The former Synagoge under Várkör str....
15/09/2025

Synagogue of Kőszeg
Kőszeg is a town of Western Hungary near to the austrian border.
The former Synagoge under Várkör str. 36 was built in 1856 in romantic style by the donation of Baron Phillip Schey (you can read his name on the roof) the funds for the building, who also supported the first kindergarten and the first poor-house in Kőszeg. The building is surrounded by the Rabbi-house and the community elementary school building.
The history of the Jewish community in Kőszeg dates back to the Middle Ages, with Jews living in the town as early as the 14th-16th centuries. However, the community's status remained uncertain for a long time.
In the 19th century, starting around the 1850s, the community experienced significant growth. It formed its own congregation, which had previously been part of the Rechnitz (Rohonc in Hungarian) community in Austria. At this time, the community had more than 150 members. An a school and a ritual bath (mikveh) were also built next to the synagogue.
In the early 20th century, the Jewish population of Kőszeg was largely assimilated and constituted an important part of the town's population. The 1941 census recorded 109 members of the community, making up about 1% of the town's inhabitants.
The community's tragedy occurred during World War II. On June 18, 1944, the Jews of Kőszeg were first deported to Szombathely and then to Auschwitz. Of the approximately 100-member community, only 16 survived the Holocaust.
After the deportations and the war, the Kőszeg Jewish community largely ceased to exist. The buildings of the congregation, which officially ceased to exist in 1951, fell into disrepair, including the synagogue. The synagogue stood abandoned for decades, but renovations began in the 2010s, restoring the building to its former glory. Today, it is open to visitors.
You can see a post about the building from before the renovation.


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