Lučenec, Synagogue

Constructed for the town’s Neolog community in 1924-1926, this colossal building is a grand memorial to the Jews of Lučenec. Surrounded by a typical communist-era housing estate, the synagogue narrowly escaped demolition in the 1980s. The building was designed by the well-known Budapest-based synagogue architect, Lipót Baumhorn. Its style reflects distinctive Baumhornian eclecticism, with Moorish, Byzantine, and Art Nouveau elements typical of Hungarian national architecture prior to World War I. In his design, Baumhorn applied his favorite scheme of a Greek cross with a central dome and corner stair-towers. He articulated the stair-towers as a western two-tower façade or polygonal eastern addition. The interior has a spatial distribution typical for Baumhorn; four pillars, supporting the dome, also carry the women’s gallery, which runs along three sides of the sanctuary. The synagogue was completely restored by its current owner, the municipality of Lučenec, in 2015. It is used for cultural purposes and a small permanent exhibition dedicated to the Jewish history of Lučenec is installed in the former women´s gallery. The municipality has received many prestigious awards for its restoration of the synagogue, including the Eugen Bárkány Prize in 2016.

Address

Adyho 69/7
Lučenec

Coordinates

48°19’30.0″N
19°40’01.7″E