Architecture

The Synagogue, completed in 1902, was designed by the Marcell Komor and Deszo Jakab, the Budapest architects who also designed other important local buildings, including the Town Hall.

In the 1920s, Jakab commented on the synagogue's concept in the Jewish weekly Szombat: "We designed the whole temple to be a light, bright place in lively colors, where sorrow passes away and believers, after having finished their prayers, leave it with peace in their hearts, as an opposition to the gloomy intimacy of Gothic churches."

The Synagogue has a tall central, eight-sided dome, whose roof is patterned in multi-colored tiles. This dominates smaller, bulbous domes, sinuously curved gables and ornamental buttresses. Each dome is topped by a star of David. The cream stucco outer walls are edged in red brick or unglazed terracotta tiles produced in the Zsolnay factory in Pécs and molded into floral or other decorative shapes.

With its glazed tile roof and zinc-clad domes, the Synagogue was one of the first buildings to employ concrete and steel construction, a technique that did not become commonplace until later in the twentieth century.

Eight steel columns arranged in a circle support the vast central dome, which is 23 meters high at its central point. The thin "Rabitz" wire-lattice net of the cupola, about 8-10 cm thick, is stretched above the massive brick tambour. Its strength and carrying capacity are ensured by 50 cm long ribs - eight at the top of the cupola and 32 at the bottom. The zinc-covered wooden structure of the outer dome protects the wire-lattice cupola. Turrets atop the corners of the synagogue maintain the balance of the mass and emphasize the verticals of the synagogue's four stairways. The Synagogue's interior walls, columns, and balcony panels are decorated with brightly colored murals, woodcarvings, and plaster elements. These include Secessionist-style forms as well as stylized motifs including roses, carnations, tulips, peacock feathers, and stems with leaves, all inspired by traditional Transylvanian folk art.

Particularly notable are the stained glass windows from the studio of Miksa Roth, which incorporate the same colorful folk motifs.