20 Nov Jewish Budapest
“Budapest is my fabulous city””
Come with me and explore my fantastic Budapest!
The Jewish Budapest
Faces and the Stories
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There have been Jewish communities in Pest and Buda since the 13th century. This tour is intended to give an overview of the eventful and often very tragic Jewish history of the city. We talk about Jewish life in the city from its earliest beginnings, about the medieval synagogue as well as the late 19th-century Great Synagogue, about the destruction of Jewish life in Budapest and its re-birth. We could extend the tour to: the Holocaust Museum, the Terror’s House, the old Jewish Cemetery, and some other memorial places.
Of course we make a tailor made trip, but the basic tour reaches the places of interest:
Király utca, also known as the former shopping street of the Jewish District, forms the northern border of the historic Jewish District. Gozsdu Courtyard (Gozsdu Udvar), a long series of connected courtyards , once served as a passageway between Király utca and Dob utca, with apartments on the top floors, and small shops and workshops on the ground floor. PM Mr Gojdu iniciated the project to support Romaian youth studying at the Budapest Jewish University. Recently, Gozsdu Courtyard was converted into a modern residential complex with some great restaurants, pubs and outdoor cafés. Walk through Gozsdu Courtyard.
At the Dob utca end of Gozsdu Courtyard we take a right onto Kazinczy utca. The Orthodox Synagogue is a wonderful Art Deco building surrounded by a community center for the Orthodox Community. This Synagogue was built in 1913 .
We walk along Kazinczy utca to Király utca. And then to Vasvári Pál utca. Hidden in a courtyard surrounded by residential buildings stands the Lubavich Synagogue built in 1887 in Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaisance style. Renovated in the 1990s the synagogue and the adjacent complex is used by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as a gathering place and school for Judaic studies.
The Great Synagogue in Dohány Street
This is the largest Synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world, built between 1854 and 1859 in Moorish Revival style. The synagogue is still used by Budapest’s Jewish community. The buildings and the courtyards of the Synagogue include the Jewish Museum, the Heroes’ Temple, the Jewish Cemetery and the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park.
The Holocaust Memorial, a weeping willow tree (by Imre Varga) with the names of Hungarian Jews killed during the Holocaust inscribed on each leaf, is located in the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park, and is visible from Wesselényi Street. Also part of the memorial are four red marble plates, commemorating 240 non-Jewish Hungarians who helped save Jews during the Holocaust. Among the heroic figures were Carl Lutz, Swiss and Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomats, who rescued thousands of Jews.
Some useful informations
Rejtő, Jenő (P. Howard)
The blonde hurricane
PREFACE
Contritely but briefly, the author confesses that his story has some antecedents.
Acknowledgements are something, which readers as well as authors like to get over quickly. That sort of thing is really very tedious. Very trite too, especially nowadays, when certain types of novel are simply manufactured from a formula just like new dishes devised from old recipes by a painstaking housewife. For instance: “Take two youthful loving hearts. Proceed to break them. Bring passions to the boil. Sprinkle with some sweet church blessing. Cook thoroughly or half-bake. Suitable for all occasions.”
Perhaps I’d better stop beating about the bush and tell prospective readers straight away that, before they can settle down to enjoy the story that follows, there is this disagreeable question of acknowledgements to be dealt with. So let’s get it over – the sooner the better. Here, then, are the ingredients from which our novel must be produced:
Take a bright young girl who tries to make a living by translating ballads – and when we say this it must be understood that she isn’t living in clover: statistics relating to the social background of the financial oligarchy of the world demonstrate that the number of plutocrats who have made their pile by translating ballads is incredibly small. Next, take an aged convict. Proceed to cleanse his heart of all sin until the precious stone of genuine charity shines forth from its most hidden recesses. This precious stone is worth, at a conservative estimate, one million pounds sterling. This aged convict – Jim Hogan by name – and the said young girl’s late father, Mr. Weston, were at school together. Mr. Weston used to make occasional visits to his convict friend and would from time to time send in food parcels for him: in a word, he did his best to alleviate Jim Hogan’s unfortunate lot. After Mr. Weston’s death, his family continued the charitable work and the aged prisoner thus continued to receive his food parcels while the occasional visits were now paid him by the late Mr. Weston’s daughter, Evelyn.
We also need a light-pursed, moony young man who goes by the name of Eddie Rancing. He tenants the garret room next door to the Westons’. As for his occupation, he is working on an invention – a device to be fitted on motorcycles – which, when completed, should bring in millions. His work has by now reached an advanced stage in which all the details are on his designing desk, though there is still a certain vagueness as to the main purpose of the device. Young Rancing, thanks to an allowance from his guardian and uncle, Mr. Arthur Rancing, read law for the space of about two terms, but has lately taken to gambling and has fallen into the habit of getting through his allowance during the first four days of the month. His leisure-hours young Rancing devotes to being in love with Evelyn Weston – a sentiment which, at the beginning of our story, is still unrequited.
I also have to introduce to you Mr. Charles Gordon, an enterprising gentleman preparing to leave very shortly the penitentiary institution where he had been sent for a term of six years. Five years and three hundred and sixty-two days Mr. Gordon has taken in his stride, so to speak, but now, for some reason, this whole prison business is beginning to get on his nerves. We all have these moods at times. I know a rambler and mountain-climber, a fellow mostly to be seen with rucksack and alpenstock, sporting an edelweiss or gentian in his hat, one who looks upon the summit of Mont Blanc as a sort of second home. Last week, this man, no doubt in one of these uncontrollable fits of passion, gave the porter a sock on the jaw when he discovered that, for the second time in a month, the lift was out of order and he would have to shin it up to the fifth floor. Similarly, with only three days to go before his release, Charles Gordon complained of racking headaches and an abnormally rapid heart-action, whereupon a sympathetic prison doctor sent him to hospital.
Translated by Farkas, István
13 Reasons You Need To Visit Budapest ASAP
1. It’s one of the most historic cities on the planet.
Budapest is right on the Danube, which has been home to humans since the Stone Age. The river and its Buda Castle are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Book a nighttime cruise to see them in top form.
2. And the greatest sights to see are free.
Roman, Gothic and Turkish styles make this charm-filled city an architectural dream. Check out Fisherman’s Bastion, a castle wall with the best views of the city.
3. It’s a food capital, and for good reason.
Budapest’s food history spans literal centuries. Check out amazing farmers markets of fruits, veggies and pastries.
4. Hot springs make the city into a spa playground.
Hungary is said to have more than 1,000 hot springs thanks to super-thin earth crust. Take a break at one of Budapest’s hot-spring spas like Széchenyi thermal baths, where outdoor pool temps reach about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Budapest is one of the cheapest spots in Europe right now.
Yes, much of Europe is cost-friendly right now, but Budapest is an especially cheap spot. Hotel rates in Hungary are down 25 percent from 2014, according to booking data from travel site Orbitz. Their research also shows a 17 percent decrease in airfare to Budapest over the last year.
6. The Great Synagogue is mind-blowingly beautiful.
The largest synagogue in Europe includes the Hungarian Jewish Museum and a Holocaust memorial. The arches are breathtaking.
7. There’s essentially a mall of food.
The Great Market Hall is the biggest market in Budapest, and it’s more than 100 years old. You’ll find pretty much anything you want on its three impressive levels.
8. Budapest is totally road trip-able.
Budapest is a convenient stop on the most efficient European road trip ever. There are easy rail transfers to Istanbul, too, if you’re looking to hit numerous spots in one trip.
9. And you’ll stay in the REAL Grand Budapest Hotel.
The Corinthia Hotel Budapest is said to have inspired last year’s Oscar-winning film.
10. But if you want to be an expert in terror, you can do that too.
The House of Terror museum details Hungary’s relations with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in a series of haunting exhibits.
11. And here, wine is an art form.
Hungary is famous for its vineyards. Weave deep into a cave labyrinth under Budapest’s castle district for a wine tasting you’ll never forget.
12. A magical island oasis is just a bridge walk away.
Margaret or Margit Island floats in the Danube, just a bridge walk away from city streets. Take a bike ride or jog, visit a petting zoo, or see a concert in the outdoor theater.
13. You’ll party in “ruins.”
Ruin pubs are doomed buildings — old cinemas, car parks and apartment buildings — that have been turned into the cheap bars of your dreams. The average bar isn’t too shabby here, either.
- Rejtő Jenő
Rejtő, Jenő (P. Howard)
The blonde hurricane
PREFACEContritely but briefly, the author confesses that his story has some antecedents.
Acknowledgements are something, which readers as well as authors like to get over quickly. That sort of thing is really very tedious. Very trite too, especially nowadays, when certain types of novel are simply manufactured from a formula just like new dishes devised from old recipes by a painstaking housewife. For instance: “Take two youthful loving hearts. Proceed to break them. Bring passions to the boil. Sprinkle with some sweet church blessing. Cook thoroughly or half-bake. Suitable for all occasions.”
Perhaps I’d better stop beating about the bush and tell prospective readers straight away that, before they can settle down to enjoy the story that follows, there is this disagreeable question of acknowledgements to be dealt with. So let’s get it over – the sooner the better. Here, then, are the ingredients from which our novel must be produced:
Take a bright young girl who tries to make a living by translating ballads – and when we say this it must be understood that she isn’t living in clover: statistics relating to the social background of the financial oligarchy of the world demonstrate that the number of plutocrats who have made their pile by translating ballads is incredibly small. Next, take an aged convict. Proceed to cleanse his heart of all sin until the precious stone of genuine charity shines forth from its most hidden recesses. This precious stone is worth, at a conservative estimate, one million pounds sterling. This aged convict – Jim Hogan by name – and the said young girl’s late father, Mr. Weston, were at school together. Mr. Weston used to make occasional visits to his convict friend and would from time to time send in food parcels for him: in a word, he did his best to alleviate Jim Hogan’s unfortunate lot. After Mr. Weston’s death, his family continued the charitable work and the aged prisoner thus continued to receive his food parcels while the occasional visits were now paid him by the late Mr. Weston’s daughter, Evelyn.
We also need a light-pursed, moony young man who goes by the name of Eddie Rancing. He tenants the garret room next door to the Westons’. As for his occupation, he is working on an invention – a device to be fitted on motorcycles – which, when completed, should bring in millions. His work has by now reached an advanced stage in which all the details are on his designing desk, though there is still a certain vagueness as to the main purpose of the device. Young Rancing, thanks to an allowance from his guardian and uncle, Mr. Arthur Rancing, read law for the space of about two terms, but has lately taken to gambling and has fallen into the habit of getting through his allowance during the first four days of the month. His leisure-hours young Rancing devotes to being in love with Evelyn Weston – a sentiment which, at the beginning of our story, is still unrequited.
I also have to introduce to you Mr. Charles Gordon, an enterprising gentleman preparing to leave very shortly the penitentiary institution where he had been sent for a term of six years. Five years and three hundred and sixty-two days Mr. Gordon has taken in his stride, so to speak, but now, for some reason, this whole prison business is beginning to get on his nerves. We all have these moods at times. I know a rambler and mountain-climber, a fellow mostly to be seen with rucksack and alpenstock, sporting an edelweiss or gentian in his hat, one who looks upon the summit of Mont Blanc as a sort of second home. Last week, this man, no doubt in one of these uncontrollable fits of passion, gave the porter a sock on the jaw when he discovered that, for the second time in a month, the lift was out of order and he would have to shin it up to the fifth floor. Similarly, with only three days to go before his release, Charles Gordon complained of racking headaches and an abnormally rapid heart-action, whereupon a sympathetic prison doctor sent him to hospital.
Translated by Farkas, István- 13 Reasons
13 Reasons You Need To Visit Budapest ASAP
1. It’s one of the most historic cities on the planet.
Budapest is right on the Danube, which has been home to humans since the Stone Age. The river and its Buda Castle are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Book a nighttime cruise to see them in top form.2. And the greatest sights to see are free.
Roman, Gothic and Turkish styles make this charm-filled city an architectural dream. Check out Fisherman’s Bastion, a castle wall with the best views of the city.3. It’s a food capital, and for good reason.
Budapest’s food history spans literal centuries. Check out amazing farmers markets of fruits, veggies and pastries.4. Hot springs make the city into a spa playground.
Hungary is said to have more than 1,000 hot springs thanks to super-thin earth crust. Take a break at one of Budapest’s hot-spring spas like Széchenyi thermal baths, where outdoor pool temps reach about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.5. Budapest is one of the cheapest spots in Europe right now.
Yes, much of Europe is cost-friendly right now, but Budapest is an especially cheap spot. Hotel rates in Hungary are down 25 percent from 2014, according to booking data from travel site Orbitz. Their research also shows a 17 percent decrease in airfare to Budapest over the last year.
6. The Great Synagogue is mind-blowingly beautiful.
The largest synagogue in Europe includes the Hungarian Jewish Museum and a Holocaust memorial. The arches are breathtaking.7. There’s essentially a mall of food.
The Great Market Hall is the biggest market in Budapest, and it’s more than 100 years old. You’ll find pretty much anything you want on its three impressive levels.8. Budapest is totally road trip-able.
Budapest is a convenient stop on the most efficient European road trip ever. There are easy rail transfers to Istanbul, too, if you’re looking to hit numerous spots in one trip.
9. And you’ll stay in the REAL Grand Budapest Hotel.
The Corinthia Hotel Budapest is said to have inspired last year’s Oscar-winning film.10. But if you want to be an expert in terror, you can do that too.
The House of Terror museum details Hungary’s relations with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in a series of haunting exhibits.11. And here, wine is an art form.
Hungary is famous for its vineyards. Weave deep into a cave labyrinth under Budapest’s castle district for a wine tasting you’ll never forget.
12. A magical island oasis is just a bridge walk away.
Margaret or Margit Island floats in the Danube, just a bridge walk away from city streets. Take a bike ride or jog, visit a petting zoo, or see a concert in the outdoor theater.13. You’ll party in “ruins.”
Ruin pubs are doomed buildings — old cinemas, car parks and apartment buildings — that have been turned into the cheap bars of your dreams. The average bar isn’t too shabby here, either.
Guide Of Budapest
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