The Great Orthodox Synagogue of Oradea and Its Neighbours

On Strada Mihai Viteazu, at the heart of what was in 1944 the Oradea ghetto, stands the Great Orthodox Synagogue. In its courtyard are the small Sas Chevra prayer house and a memorial to the deported. After nine years of restoration the synagogue was rededicated in September 2018.

The Orthodox community after the split

After the split of 1870 the Orthodox remained the city’s large, traditional community, while the Neologs built their Zion synagogue on the riverbank. According to the survey by Arhitectura 1906, the Orthodox community was led from 1881 to 1898 by Izidor Ullmann, who negotiated the free transfer of the land for the synagogue. The first rabbi of the new synagogue was Rabbi Moses Zevi Fuchs, who served until 1911.

A synagogue of lace, 1890

The synagogue was built in 1890 to plans by the architect Nándor Bach, with the Oradea contractor Ferenc Knapp as builder. The Encyclopaedia Judaica dates it to 1891, probably its completion. The style is eclectic, with abundant Moorish ornament. The city’s tourism site describes its “lacework” decoration and counts it among the most richly decorated synagogues of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

The hall is longitudinal, with the women’s gallery running around three sides. According to Arhitectura 1906, it was designed for 600 men in the hall and 450 women in the gallery, about 1,050 seats in all.

1944: at the centre of the ghetto

In May 1944 the Hungarian authorities set up the city ghetto around the synagogue: 36 streets whose only entrance was from Strada Mihai Viteazu, according to the city’s tourism site. According to the Wiesel Commission report, about 27,000 Jews were confined there. The Jewish Council was headed by Sándor Leitner, leader of the Orthodox community. According to the historian Attila Gidó, after the deportations a labour unit collected the furniture, clothing and valuables left in the empty flats and stored them in the synagogue, which became a warehouse.

The memorial and the courtyard

On the square in front of the synagogue stands the memorial to the deported Jews of Oradea. Survivors erected it in 1946. In 2003 the community renovated it with support from the Lempert Family Foundation and added plaques in English, Hebrew, Romanian and Hungarian. The city’s tourism site describes it as black marble and dedicated to members of the Orthodox community who died in the camps.

In the courtyard stands the Sas Chevra prayer house, built in 1908 to designs by Lajos Incze. According to Tikvah, it held the daily minyan during the restoration years, and it is still used for the minyan and other services. The office of the Jewish Community of Oradea is at the same address, Strada Mihai Viteazu 4.

Restoration and rededication

Restoration began in 2009 and took about nine years. It covered structural consolidation, lighting, stained glass and painting. According to Romania Insider, citing a local news site, the work cost about RON 1.5 million (about €322,000). The synagogue was rededicated in early September 2018, the second of Oradea’s synagogues to rejoin the tourist map after Zion. Arhitectura 1906 gives the date as 4 September 2018; Romania Insider reports 3 September.

Sources describe its current use differently. The city’s tourism site presents it as the only functioning synagogue in Oradea, where the community gathers for memorials and family celebrations. According to Tikvah, it is used mainly on special occasions, while daily prayers are held in the Sas Chevra.

The city’s other synagogues

According to Digi24, Oradea has more synagogues than any other city in Romania. These are the main survivors:

• Zion, the Neolog synagogue (1878), Strada Independenței 22: restored and used as a cultural centre.
• Aachvas Rein, Strada Primăriei 25: an Orthodox prayer house stood on the site from 1870, and the present building was designed by the architect István Pintér. Arhitectura 1906 dates it to 1926, Tikvah to 1928. Under communism it served as a vegetable warehouse; since December 2018 it has housed the Museum of the History of the Jews of Oradea.
• Poale Tzedek: built around 1910 for craftsmen at the initiative of Rabbi Benjamin Fuchs. It was used for many years as a workshop and, according to Tikvah, is now abandoned.
• The Vizhnitz synagogue: built by a benefactor for Rabbi Israel Hager, who fled to Oradea in 1915. In 1944 it served as the ghetto hospital; today it is divided into small commercial units.

The two oldest synagogues, the “Old” (1803) and the “New” (1851), were demolished under communism, according to Tikvah. We found no evidence in the sources consulted of an “Aguda” synagogue in the city.

Visiting

The synagogue is at Strada Mihai Viteazu 4, in the city centre, a few minutes’ walk from the Zion synagogue. The memorial on the square in front is accessible at all times, according to Memorial Museums. Entry to the synagogue and the Sas Chevra must be arranged in advance with the Jewish Community of Oradea, whose office is at the same address, tel. +40 259 434 843, per the Federation’s website. We found no official source for fixed opening hours. Combine the visit with the museum at Strada Primăriei 25.