On our first day in Budapest, we ran out of time before we could visit the Kazinczy Street Orthodox Jewish Synagogue and see the contrast with the Reformed Jewish Synagogue which we visited earlier. In addition, we did not have sufficient time at St. Stephens Basilica – we rushed through it, and the crowds were overwhelming. After reviewing the agenda for the scheduled Tauck tour this morning, we opted to do our own thing.
Orthodox Jewish Synagogue
Podium
Synagogue during Nazi occupation
The Orthodox Jewish synagogue, in the heart of the Jewish quarters, was built in 1913. It was destroyed during World War II. Rebuilt, it now includes several stained glass windows designed by the same artist who designed the stained glass windows for St. Stephens. We had a chance to talk with the person manning the synagogue’s entrance. Probably in his 80’s, he talked about the hard times the Jews had during the latter part of World War II and the history of his family. He talked about how Jews tried to blend in, to be invisible, and to protect themselves. That attitude is still present today. The various Jewish sites are not prominently marked or displayed. Those that are have Jewish security people guarding the entrance and the street. While there are approximately 20 synagogues in the city, there are only about 10,000 Jews remain. Attendance is a problem, as it is for all religions in the city. No one goes to church or to a synagogue. The vast majority is not practicing their declared religion. As we learned from one of our Jewish tour guides, at times it is difficult to get a minyan or quorum (ten men in the Orthodox branch) to conduct important services.
The travel guides listed the Glass House as an important site to visit. It was originally a glass factory and shop, architected and built with the products of the factory – glass. In 1944, Carl Lutz the Swiss vice-consul, Maximilian Jaeger the Swiss Ambassador, and Döme Sztójay the Prime Minister of Hungary strategized to put the building under the protection of the Swiss Embassy. It would serve as the refuge for more than 2,500 people, and protected them from capture and deportation. The site was attacked several times by the Arrow Cross Party, but all were thwarted by the Swiss asylum status. All refuges survived. Given its noteworthiness, we thought it would be easy to find and it would have an instructive story to tell. Nope! When we found the building, it did not look like a glass house, only metal doors and windows boarded up. Three doorbell buttons, with handwritten labels in Hungarian, were the only thing of note. All doors were locked. Perhaps we were at the wrong place. As a last resort, we pushed all three buttons…nothing happened for several minutes. We were just about to leave when the metal door creaked open and an old women peaked through the crack and said something in Hungarian. She looked like she had been here from before the start of the war. All we could do is say “Glass House”…hoping she would understand. It didn’t look promising. After some thought, she opened the door further and waved us in, locking the door behind us.
Display in the Glass House
We passed through a dark, dirty, dilapidated, arched passageway, that opened into a courtyard overrun with grass and ‘stuff,’ and surrounded by buildings ready to collapse under the weight of grassy roofs. She led us into a 20’ x 20’ room, where we found various posters and photographs. This was the right place, BUT, it looked absolutely nothing like the drawings we had seen. All posters, photos, and captions were in Hungarian. She left for a minute, and came back with a man about her age, carrying a CD. Pointing at it, he said “English,” and loaded it into a historic looking CD player that most likely dated back to the first player every produced. As it began to play, it was difficult to follow the story line and the reference to the various items in the room. Suffering through the twenty-minute story, unable to ask any questions, we made a contribution and left. But wait, we couldn’t get out without pushing another button that allowed us to exit. It’s clear that this gem had a great and impactful role in history, but the presentation needs some work.
St. Stephens Basilica
Italian lunch next to St. Stephens
We returned to St. Stephens Basilica to take another, more detailed walk-through. Very beautiful and definitely worth a second look. The large square in front of the church was not very busy, as workers were setting up a stage for a celebration over the weekend. We spotted an Italian restaurant along the edge of the square. Italian food seemed like a welcome break from the Hungarian food we’ve been enjoying. No paprika, just pasta and sauce….all home made…all ingredients imported from Italy. We spent several minutes talking with the manager, who had been a manager of a Four Season’s restaurant, as well as a cruise director. He gave Mel and me a tour of his Italian wine cellar, but we couldn’t talk him into a free tasting. We did ask him about the student unrest, and the autocratic direction of the government. He was very blasé about the whole thing. Life in Budapest is good, people are enjoying themselves.
The Assembly (left) side of the Parliament building
Beautiful staircases in Parliament
House of Lords chambers
Our final stop was to visit the Parliament. In front of the Parliament, the Kossuth Square became the center of the Hungarian state at the end of the 19th century. An international architectural competition was held to design the two-house Parliament building. The winning design was submitted by Imre Steindl, while the 2nd and 3rd place winning designs were used to build the two other buildings on the opposite side of the square – the Museum of Ethnography housing a large collection of costumes, toys, furnishings, and much more, and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture. The Parliament building is symmetrical with both wings being identical – the right side was the House of Lords, while the left was the Assembly. It was completed in 1904. Today’s unicameral government does not need both facilities, hence the government uses only the left side of the building. The House of Lords chambers, on the right, is currently used as a conference and meeting center and is open to the public for tours. It is grand. The entrance, the halls, the stairs are a regal statement. It is the location of the crown awarded to St. Stephens by the Pope, back in about 1000. No photos of the crown were allowed. The display podium was guarded by two military honor guards brandishing decorative swords. I’ve included a photo of the crown from their web site to give you a sense. Notice that it doesn’t come close to reaching the bling factor of the British crown. The cross at the top is slightly cocked off-center. The crown was stolen and retrieved several times over the centuries – consequently the wear and tear look. During WWII it somehow made its way to the United States, where it was held for security in Fort Knox. It was returned to Hungary by President Jimmy Carter.
St. Stephens Royal Crown
After completing our tour of Parliament, we walked along the Danube to the emotional memorial: Shoes on the Danube. In the harsh winter of 1944, Jews were rounded up by the Arrow Cross Party, marched to the banks of the Danube which was filled with ice floats. The men, women, and children were stripped naked and groups of ten were shackled together at their legs. To save ammunition, the Arrow Cross firing squad would shoot and kill only one, then push the whole column into the icy river. The savagery of people is unbelievable.
Shoes on the Danube Memorial
View of Castle Hill on the other, Buda side of the Danube
Hungarian folk music theatre
Performing traditional dance and music
Numbed, we walked back to the area near our hotel, for a reflective dinner while we waited to attend a performance of traditional Hungarian music and dance. The performance lifted our spirits. The Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt was the most beautiful rendition we’ve ever heard. (With my headset on, I’m listening to a version as I write this.) Rather than using a piano as the key instrument, they used the traditional Hungarian cimbalom. There is beauty in the world!
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