Budapest #4

Today we explored the Jewish Quarter in Erzsébetváros which was fascinating. So much to see and ponder over.

At the heart of this area is The Great Synagogue (built in 1859) which is the biggest in Europe and is second in the world only to New York. It seats 3000 worshippers. Over the years much restoration work has taken place with Estée Lauder (born Josephine Esther Mentzer in New York to Hungarian immigrants) donating US$5 million to the fund.

The image I have posted is of the Holocaust Memorial. The 'tree of life' designed by Imre Varga has the family surnames of the hundreds of thousands victims inscribed on the metal leaves. The actor Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz in New York to Hungarian/Slovakian immigrants) bore the costs of the sculpture.

A walk round the area (formerly a ghetto) was very atmospheric and thought provoking. There are many formal and informal memorials to the Jewish community around the city which has suffered greatly not only during both world wars but also at the hands of the various Communist regimes. The most moving of those is the 'Shoes on the Danube' memorial. Sixty pairs of old-style boots and shoes (made in cast iron) line the bank of the river in a higgledy-piggledy manner).

When the Nazis occupied Budapest many Jews were arrested, taken down to the river and shot. Their shoes, which would be sold, were removed before their bodies were thrown into the river such can be man's inhumanity to man.

The extra image is of one of the 'informal' memorials which has been put in place, in protest, in front of the official Hungarian Memorial. The light of protest will never be extinguished.

Today was our last full day in Budapest. Our flight home is late tomorrow afternoon so we have time for a few more explorations in the morning. I know what Mrs CBL will suggest ... one last look at the Christmas markets!