Grand Jewish Budapest Tour – through authentic Jewish eyes
Duration: 7 hours
During our tour besides the Jewish past, we are also happy to talk about the present Jewish life in Hungary and in Budapest.
This tour is a perfect choice for all those who would like to see besides the highlights, the hidden Jewish treasure, as well.
Our tour goes through the Jewish sights of Budapest in chronological order.
We start our day in the Castle District where the first Jews of Buda settled in the 13th century.
We see the small, medieval synagogue in the former Jewish street, learn about the Jewish life during the Turkish occupation in the 16th -17th centuries and get to know how does it possible that in the 21st century there are two Synagogues from the Medieval time still unexcavated. Unbelievable, but true, they are underground of the Castle District. (Evidences and background stories)
Then continue to Old Buda. In the 18th century German and Czech Jewish settlers established homes there.
Under the patronage of the noble Zichy family the Jewish colony of Old Buda developed into a prominent community.
Interior visit in the recently (Sept, 2010 re-opened) Old Buda Synagogue. It was built in 1820-21 in Classicist style, for long decades were used by TV studio. Today this Synagogue belongs to the World known Chabad Lubavitch Movement.
We still stay in Buda and visit the Frankel Synagogue, which was built in 1888 in neo-gothic style. Here you can hear about one of the most vibrant Jewish Community in Budapest. (Day by day program, Friday evening almost 100 people attend in the Service.)
Before we cross the River Danube and get to Pest, there is an opportunity to visit the oldest, still existing Jewish Cemetery. It is in the middle of Buda, between modern houses and office building. It is very sad and the same time very picturesque, in certain way similar to the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague. Here we can find the grave site of Rabbi Koppel Reich; he was one of the greatest Orthodox Rabbis of the 19th-20th century. Hungary- still lots of pilgrimage get to him.
In Pest side our tour includes a walk in the old Jewish Quarter, interior visit of the Dohany Street Synagogue (Europe’s biggest), the Jewish Museum, the Kazinczy Street Orthodox Sy and the Rumbach Street Sy, and also see the Holocaust Memorial.
After it drive to the “Shoes Memorial” on the River Bank. This is the memorial place from where the Nazi Hungarians shot the Jews into the Danube River in winter of 1944-45. Then continue to the “Glass-house”. This is a remarkable place that, on the one hand, served as a shelter and hiding place for about 3,000 Jews saved by Carl Lutz, the Consul of Switzerland in late 1944 and, one the other hand, was also the center of the underground Zionist organization in Hungary.
During our tour you will see other Memorials, Monuments, such as Raoul Wallenberg Memorial and Steho Gabor Memorial.
Pls. note upon request we can also show you those tragedy spot of Budapest – related to Holocaust which is still visible but not considered as “tourists sights”. – Eichman’s home in Budapest, Railway Station from where the “transports” left the city etc. …
