Synagogue

One of Szombathely’s most distinctive and monumental buildings is the synagogue, designed by Viennese architect Ludwig Schöne and constructed in 1880. From 1715, Jews were forbidden to settle within the city walls of Szombathely. In 1832, the community gained independence and, on a plot granted by their patron, Prince Fülöp Batthyány, built their own temple. The city’s first synagogue operated at 46 Thököly Street until 1956.

The Szombathely Synagogue is one of Hungary’s first synagogues with towers. Decorated with domed towers and multi-colored brick facades, this late-Romantic style building is more restrained in decoration compared to the Dohány Street Synagogue. Its façades feature large semicircular arched windows with niches and rose windows, while the cornices are adorned with semicircular romantic motifs. The crowning cornice includes the Star of David.

The synagogue hall measured 16.15 × 19 m and featured women’s galleries on three sides, accessed via staircases at the main façade. A winter prayer room was located behind the Torah niche on the eastern wall, with its own stairways. Equipped with an organ and a representative interior reflecting the Eastern world, the synagogue’s scale testified to the needs of a growing Jewish community. It played a key role in fostering cohesion among Szombathely’s and Vas County’s Jewish population. The last rabbi of the community was Dr. József Horowitz. In 1944, 3,600 people were deported from the city. The synagogue was sold by the Jewish community in 1968, with the proceeds primarily used for cemetery maintenance due to lack of state support.