Dessewffy street synagogue, 23 Dessewffy street

Hidden in Dessewffy street is a synagogue
Source: errearra.org, lathatatlan.ovas.hu

The Dessewffy street was the dirt road in Theresatown, made by the inner side of the moat at the end of the 18^th century. It had been known as the Three Hearts street back then. This name was approved by the Public Development Council of the Capital City (FKT) in 1870. Its current name has been born since 1874.

In the middle of the street stands a single-story village house, miraculously intact since the 1840s. Only the neighbours and the insiders know that it’s not just a regular house, but that its courtyard gives home to an orthodox prayer house, a synagogue since 1870. As per medieval traditions, the synagogue could not have been directly accessed from the street. Most of the synagogues in Budapest had broken this tradition, but the small synagogue, a listed building in the yard surrounded by the protection of the tall firewalls, still carries this old custom.

   
Source: errearra.org, maoih.hu

The Dessewffy street synagogue is the oldest functioning orthodox prayer house of Budapest. It has been built from the stables, which then became the headquarters of the Bikur cholim society, which has primarily taken care of the sick.

The Jewish porters and carters of the neighbourhood felt that they need a place of prayer they can step in during their work hours in the day. The Medical Insurance and Self-Help Association of the Budapest Civil Servant Industry, which was established by these workers, bought the property for this reason. For a while, the carriage house operated as a prayer house, since the construction documents only showed permission to build in the year 1894. This is when the association had a two-nave prayer house, a meeting and council hall built with the help of Károly Heinrich build master. The construction was 9.60 m wide and 16.70 m long, supported by two cast-iron columns in the middle longitudinally, behind the U-shaped ground-floor house.

  
Source: errearra.org

The synagogue back then was also called the church off the “redcaps”, thanks to the carters and porters praying here at first, who had worn their characteristic red caps and went here because of the closeness of the train station.

The Bikur Cholim Society began renovations and expansions in 1925. The space on the ground floor had a gallery added for the women, accessible via two staircases on the sides, the prayer house and the meeting and council hall was unified then a new meeting and council hall was built in front of it. This is when the synagogue got its art nouveau look leaning more towards art deco: its two-story facade divided by arched openings, covered with red brick, with a pediment symbolizing a tablet.

 
Source: errearra.org

The single-story reception hall on the street remained unchanged, though, just like the blue-gold-white colours and the simplicity of the synagogue. From the 1930s more changes occured in the interior of the building. The community in 1932 had a new Torah wall built in art deco style, then in 1937 a new Torah reading pulpit (bima) was erected, made from white marble of Carrara, a gift from the head of Bikur Cholim, dr. Dezső Rakonitz in 1936. Upstairs, in a forgotten room, the beautiful doors of the old Torah cabinet, made from embossed metal sheets and decorated with lions, and the four simpler, but still beautiful lampholders from the corners of the old Bima can still be found.

 
Source: zsido.com, errearra.org, lathatatlan.ovas.hu

Nowadays, only the residents of the neighbourhood come to the synagogue to pray every day, day and night. The hidden, movingly humble building with its unique atmosphere is still for the commonfolk, just like before, but mostly for the elderly. Day by day, less and less people visit the synagogue, it’s getting harder to reach the “minjan” (literal translation: number, number of attendees). As per Jewish tradition, any ceremonies dedicated to any saints needs at least ten adult men to attend, like the communal prayer or the Kaddish (prayer for the dead). According to the recollections of the elder members, the operation of the synagogue was not continuous, since during the Revolution of 1956 the building did not open one time, on a Tuesday.

Source: errearra.org

Sources: maoih.hu, lathatatlan.ovas.hu