Cetate Synagogue

Cetate Synagogue
Sinagoga din Cetate
The façade of the synagogue in 2023
Religion
AffiliationNeolog Judaism
RiteNusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organisational status
OwnershipFederation of the Jewish Communities in Romania
StatusActive
Location
Location6 Mărășești Street, Timișoara
CountryRomania
Cetate Synagogue is located in Romania Timișoara
Cetate Synagogue
Location of the synagogue in Timișoara
Geographic coordinates45°45′23″N 21°13′33″E / 45.75639°N 21.22583°E / 45.75639; 21.22583
Architecture
Architect(s)Carl Schumann [de]
TypeSynagogue architecture
Style
Groundbreaking1863
Completed1865
Specifications
Capacity3,000
Dome(s)2
MaterialsBrick
Official nameSinagoga din Cetate
TypeArchitectural
Reference no.TM-II-m-A-06150
[1][2]

The Cetate Synagogue (Romanian: Sinagoga din Cetate) is a Neolog Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Mărășești Street in the Cetate district of Timișoara, in Timiș County, Romania. Designed by Carl Schumann [de] in an eclectic architectural style, the synagogue was completed in 1865.[1]

The synagogue is included on the National Register of Historic Monuments in Romania.[2] The synagogue closed in 1985; was repurposed as a concert hall, and then reopened as a synagogue and tourist attraction in 2022.[3][4] Cetate translates from Romanian, as citadel.[5]

History

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Illustration of the synagogue by Fredy Glenc (Vasárnapi Ujság [hu], 1864)

The synagogue was built between 1863 and 1864, with completion works extended until 1865.[6] The construction project was entrusted to the Viennese architect Carl Schumann [de].[7] First Rabbi Mór Hirschfeld had taken the initiative to appeal to members of the community, who donated the necessary funds to purchase two plots near the Judenhof ("Jewish Quarter") from the Janicsáry family and the Piarist college.[8] Ignátz S. Eisenstädter, the cashier and later, between 1870 and 1890, the president of the community, played a key role in the organizing committee under the leadership of Marcus Grünbaum.[8] The construction of the synagogue was done by Lipót Baumhorn,[citation needed] who, in addition to the one in Timișoara, built many other synagogues in Brașov, Rijeka, and Budapest, and also some important civil buildings, including in Timișoara.[9] The building was originally called the New Synagogue.[10]

The synagogue was inaugurated on 19 September 1865, at 10 o'clock, one day before the eve of Rosh HaShanah, being re-inaugurated two years later, in 1867, in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[6] 1867 also marked the establishment of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, and the year of the acquisition of full citizenship by the Jews of the Empire. The synagogue served the Neolog Jewish community for nearly 140 years.

Due to the decline in the number of Jews leaving for Israel after World War II, the synagogue was closed in 1985.[11] In 2001, the Jewish community of Timișoara ceded the building to the Philharmonic Society for a period of 50 years, to be used as a concert hall. It was reopened for the first time in 20 years in September 2005, when it hosted a concert organized by the Banatul Philharmonic.[11] Currently, the synagogue has returned to the administration of the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania. Rehabilitation work on the synagogue began in December 2017. The synagogue will again be used as a place of prayer, possibly with a space set up for a museum of Jews of Timișoara.[12]

Architecture

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Architectural details of one of the towers

Cetate Synagogue is one of the most distinctive and original buildings in the city. It has an eclectic style, typical of the second half of the 19th century, with ornaments of Moorish Revival and Romanesque Revival styles, with decorations specific to Judaism.[12] The layout of the building is a central, cruciform one, to which the body of the vestibule, flanked by the two towers of the building, is added to the west.[6] The main facade is built of apparent brick and glazed ceramic tiles.[12] The alternation of the use of two-tone bricks draws geometric motifs on the entire surface of the main facade, but dominated by the large rose window, in which the symbol of the Star of David can be noticed.

The entrance is made through a vestibule (pulish), which has two houses on the sides of the access stairs leading to the lodges reserved for women and to the towers. From the vestibule one enters into a rectangular room (heichal) reserved for men. It has wooden benches carved and covered with a dome on pendants, connected to deep space by four arches.[13] Inside, the rich decorations and stained glass windows of great art are complemented by a Wegenstein organ, made by Carl Leopold Wegenstein [de] in 1899.[14] The capacity is approximately 3,000 people.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Cetate (Citadel) Synagogue in Timişoara". Historic Synagogues of Europe. Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. n.d. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Lista monumentelor istorice 2015: Județul Timiş" (PDF). Institutul Național al Patrimoniului (in Romanian). Guvernul României. 2018. p. 2481. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  3. ^ Vainer, Aurel (2008). Seventy years of existence. Six hundred years of Jewish life in Romania. Forty years of partnership FEDROM–JOINT (PDF). The Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania. p. 72.
  4. ^ "Sinagoga din Cetate, reinaugurată în stil mare". Adevărul (in Romanian). May 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "Romania Update: Painstaking restoration work on the historic Cetate (Citadel) synagogue in Timisoara progresses well". Jewish Heritage Europe. August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Eke, Zsuzsanna (2017). "Sinagoga din cartierul Cetate, Timișoara, și stilul maur" (PDF). Transsylvania Nostra. 40 (43): 48–56.
  7. ^ Moldovan, Mihai-Claudiu (September 21, 2020). "Sinagoga din Cetate". Heritage of Timișoara.
  8. ^ a b "Sinagoga din Cetate". Muzeul Virtual al Evreilor din Timișoara „Prim Rabin Dr. Ernest Neumann”.
  9. ^ Streja, Aristide; Schwarz, Lucian (2015). Sinagoga în România (in Romanian). Bucharest: Hasefer. p. 169. ISBN 978-973-630-325-8.
  10. ^ "Sinagoga din Cetate". Timisoara-Info.ro (in Romanian).
  11. ^ a b "Sinagoga din Cetate". Discover Timiș.
  12. ^ a b c Both, Ștefan (February 3, 2018). "Unul dintre cele mai remarcabile monumente arhitecturale din Timișoara intră în renovare". Adevărul (in Romanian).
  13. ^ a b Iacobescu, Daliana (May 15, 2015). "Sinagoga din Cetate". Merg.În.
  14. ^ Metz, Franz (2008). "Temeswar Innenstadt Synagoge". Edition Musik Südost.
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