There are a thousand and one reasons to visit the small country of the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia. But the recently restored gem of Serbian-Hungarian architecture, the synagogue in the city of Subotica, may well be the only reason to go on this trip.
The second-largest synagogue in Europe was designed by renowned Hungarian architects Marcell Komor and Dezso Jakab. By the way, it stands on the central city square named after them. The synagogue was built in 1903 on the site of an old small shrine. Then this land belonged to Austria-Hungary, and Subotica was a Catholic city, the third-largest in the Hungarian kingdom and the tenth in the Austrian Empire. The new synagogue served a local Neolog community of more than 3,000 unorthodox Jews.
Today, it is the only conserved Hungarian synagogue in the world and one of the best-preserved Art Nouveau religious buildings. Marcell Komor and Dezso Jakab were devoted fans of the "father of Hungarian modernist architecture" Ödön Lechner. Later, they became followers of a new architectural style that combined Hungarian folklore and Jewish motives.
In addition to the notable eclectic appearance, the interior of the synagogue also has several differences from traditional Jewish shrines. It is a single space with a high dome, lined with ceramics. It is supported by eight steel columns covered with plaster and decorated with palm leaves, and the top of the dome is painted in golden color. On the walls of the striking synagogue, you can see paintings of plant and zoomorphic ornaments with tulips, carnations, and peacock feathers. The majestic 40-meters-high building can accommodate more than 500 people in the women's gallery and more than 800 in the men's gallery.
As the Jewish community was regularly subjected to ethnic and religious persecution during the Second World War, the synagogue continues to be a poignant and significant symbol of cultural fusion.