The exhibition space of the Medieval Jewish House of Prayer commemorates the medieval and early modern Jewish community of Buda on the ground floor of the residential building at 26 Táncsics Mihály Street. During the reconstruction after the destruction of World War II, painted images with Hebrew inscriptions were discovered on the vault of the ground floor of the building in 1964, and the exhibition space was created after the reconstruction of the room of medieval origin.
The Jewish community had been present in the city since its foundation in the mid-13th century. Their first quarter was located on the road from the present-day White Gate to the Royal Palace, which they had to abandon in the early 15th century. They then moved to the northern part of today's Táncsics Mihály Street, the contemporary Jewish Street, where the community lived with a short interruption until 1686. The exhibition includes panels showing life in the medieval and Ottoman Jewish quarters of Buda Castle, as well as the synagogues in the Castle Quarter that have been excavated and are currently closed to the public. You can also see some of the architectural highlights of the synagogue found at 23 Táncsics Mihály Street, and a collection of gravestones from the Jewish population of the past. Today the exhibition site also serves as a place of worship and is used as the Synagogue of Budavár by the United Hungarian Israelite Congregation. Address:
1014 Budapest, Táncsics Mihály street 26. General opening hours:
Monday: CLOSED Tuesday: 10:00-18:00 Wednesday: 10:00-18:00 Thursday: 10:00-18:00 Friday: 10:00-17:00 Saturday: CLOSED Sunday: 10:00-18:00 TICKETS Full price: 800 HUF Student-Senior: 400 HUF |
TÉRKÉP
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The Jews of Buda in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period
The city of Buda was founded by King Béla IV (1235-1270) after the Tatar invasion of 1241-1242, and the Jewish community moved to the new settlement. King Béla IV issued a charter of privileges in 1251, regulating the rights and freedoms of the Jews and their relations with Christians, which remained in force throughout the Kingdom of Hungary throughout the Middle Ages. The Jewish community was regarded as the property of the royal chamber, taxed directly to the treasury and protected by the king through the national Jewish judge (usually the coadjutor or the noble). The early Jewish quarter of Buda was located along the road from the present-day Fehérvár Gate to the Royal Palace.
By the middle of the 15th century, the Jewish quarter had moved to the northern part of the city. In the new Jewish Street (today Táncsics Mihály Street), the new synagogue (1461) was built on the plot opposite our exhibition hall (No. 23). During the reign of King Matthias (1458-1490), a favourable turn in the life of the Jews of Hungary took place, and the ruler appointed a prefect to head the Jews of Hungary. The post was inherited among members of the Mendel family of Buda. The Ottoman conquest put an end to the life of the medieval Jewish quarter. Sultan Süleyman (1520-1566), victorious at the Battle of Mohács (1526), after his withdrawal from Buda, which had been abandoned by its inhabitants, resettled the Jews who had remained in the city to the big cities of the Empire.
In 1541, Sultan Suleiman conquered and annexed Buda to the Ottoman Empire, to which the Jews were allowed to return, repossessing their abandoned houses and synagogue. Buda had a significant Jewish population during the Ottoman period, accounting for about 10-15% of the city's population. Three of their synagogues are mentioned in contemporary accounts. Thanks to the protection provided by the Ottoman Empire, the Jews of Buda lived in relative peace, interrupted only by periods of war from time to time. This world came to an end in the fateful year of 1686. At the end of a long, bitter siege, the anti-Turkish Christian League army captured the city on 2 September. The Jewish population shared the fate of the rest of the city's inhabitants, and during the three days of free plunder allowed to the victorious soldiers, most of them were killed or taken into captivity, from which they were freed only for a high ransom, but not allowed to return to Buda.
By the middle of the 15th century, the Jewish quarter had moved to the northern part of the city. In the new Jewish Street (today Táncsics Mihály Street), the new synagogue (1461) was built on the plot opposite our exhibition hall (No. 23). During the reign of King Matthias (1458-1490), a favourable turn in the life of the Jews of Hungary took place, and the ruler appointed a prefect to head the Jews of Hungary. The post was inherited among members of the Mendel family of Buda. The Ottoman conquest put an end to the life of the medieval Jewish quarter. Sultan Süleyman (1520-1566), victorious at the Battle of Mohács (1526), after his withdrawal from Buda, which had been abandoned by its inhabitants, resettled the Jews who had remained in the city to the big cities of the Empire.
In 1541, Sultan Suleiman conquered and annexed Buda to the Ottoman Empire, to which the Jews were allowed to return, repossessing their abandoned houses and synagogue. Buda had a significant Jewish population during the Ottoman period, accounting for about 10-15% of the city's population. Three of their synagogues are mentioned in contemporary accounts. Thanks to the protection provided by the Ottoman Empire, the Jews of Buda lived in relative peace, interrupted only by periods of war from time to time. This world came to an end in the fateful year of 1686. At the end of a long, bitter siege, the anti-Turkish Christian League army captured the city on 2 September. The Jewish population shared the fate of the rest of the city's inhabitants, and during the three days of free plunder allowed to the victorious soldiers, most of them were killed or taken into captivity, from which they were freed only for a high ransom, but not allowed to return to Buda.