The storied Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, considered the most important Jewish structure in Hungary, has been awarded with the European Heritage Label, a prestigious title given who values extend beyond borders.
The president of the Hungarian Federation of Jewish Communities MAZSIHISZ, Andras Heisler, called it a source of pride that the Dohány Street Synagogue, home to active religious life since 1859, had become the first Jewish site granted with European Heritage recognition. The award was initiated by Hungary, France and Spain in 2006 with the intention of bringing Europeans awareness and esteem of their common and diverse historical and cultural heritages.
Built in the 1850s, the Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest one in the world. Its surroundings include a museum and archives, a memorial for 10,000 Jewish Hungarian soldiers who lost their lives in WWI, a garden used as a cemetery for the victims of the Holocaust as well as the Wallenberg Memorial Park. The Dohány Street Synagogue Complex is a symbol of integration, remembrance and openness to dialogue.
Robert Frölich, Chief Rabbi of Hungary spoke about the important role of the Dohány synagogue in linking the Jewish people in Hungary and the rest of Hungarian society, and described the award as a “recognition of our past, encouraging for the present and hope for the future".
