The Jewish Quarter

Balancing the duty of remembrance against a lively atmosphere isn’t easy, but the city does this well. Budapest’s Jewish Quarter juggles past traditions with modernity. Today, this quarter is full of life, festivals and famous “ruin bars”—formerly abandoned buildings, whose ruins have been transformed into bars. But its past tells a very different story. These streets once formed one of the last ghettos of World War II, created by the fascist and antisemitic Hungarian party called the “Arrow Cross”. More than 200,000 Jews were crammed in this area of just 0.26 square kilometres, with most of them tragically dying here. By the end of the Nazi occupation, there were only 70,000 left. After this horrific chapter of the Holocaust, the city underwent a massive urban development plan that erased many traces of the Jewish community. But fortunately, not all. Just 15 metres ahead, you’ll find the radiant Rumbach Synagogue, which was abandoned for six decades. It’s Otto Wagner’s masterpiece, an Austrian architect who was a major figure in 19th- and 20th-century European architecture. The façade was inspired by Moorish and Art Nouveau styles, plus, you cannot miss its colourful brickwork.