Synagogue in Nitra Prečítať

The Nitra synagogue was built in 1911 according to the design of Leopold Baumhorn, a well-known designer of synagogues in Austria-Hungary. It is a rare architectural monument, registered in the Central List of Monument Fund of the Slovak Republic. It is located in the monument zone and in the protection zone of the city monument reserve.

The synagogue stands on the site of the former Mercader garden and is an example of the mastery of the architect Leopold Baumhorn. The building started in 1908 on the order of the Nitra Neological Jewish Community and was completed on the New Year of Rosh Hashanah in September 1911. It is an example of an eclectic sacral building in Byzantine and Oriental style. It has a central ground plan completed with a polygonal shell and corner domes. The facade is divided by flat glazed bricks combined with plaster, accentuated by oriental elements. These elements are emphasized by plant and geometric ornamentation. The portal consists of double-wing entrance doors with rich decorative ironwork and a forged handle. It is situated on the southern facade. The interior is white. There is a commemorative plaque behind the main entrance with the names of the founders and donators who financially contributed to the construction. The interior decoration is humble. There are no paintings, statues or other imitations of God. It results the main dogma of Jewish religion, according to which the core of human life is different from the core od God´s existence. Therefore the imitation of God in the form of artistic works made by humans is forbidden.

The original owner of the synagogue was Nitra Jewish Community and since 1982 the District National Committee in Nitra. In accordance with the law, the synagogue became the property of the City of Nitra in 1991. It was publicly reopened in 2003, and it became a precious site for cultural and social events. A permanent exhibition of the works of the important Israeli artist Shraga Weil and an exhibition commemorating the life of the pre-war Jewish community in Nitra have their place here. Since 2009, the synagogue is part of the Slovak Jewish Heritage Route.The history of the Jewish population in Nitra is very rich. The first written mention of the presence of Jews in our territory marked as Mons Judeorum can already be found in the second Zobor lists from 1113. Already in this period there was a Jewish cemetery in Nitra, which today is one of the largest in Slovakia. We have other reports about the Jewish population of Nitra from the 18th century from the locality of Párovce, when number of inhabitans increased significantly. In the next period, they formed a significant part of the city's population, engaged in trade and crafts, founded several associations, schools, a religious community, had their own synagogue, and devoted themselves to charity. Several important figures of the city were also of Jewish origin, such as the philanthropist Jozef Engel, the mayor Vojtech Szilágyi, the entrepreneurs Arpádovci (the oldest and largest company in Nitra, the Arpád mill), Krammerovci (the company Ferenit for the production of asbestos-cement roofing), the owner of the famous cafe Hugo Braun, the owner of the brickyard Max Pollak , or foundry and granary builder Artur Verö and many others. The famous rabbi Ezekiel Baneth also worked in Nitra, who was known throughout Europe and died with the reputation of a saint.The Jewish religious community still functions in Nitra today, and they aim to preserve the religious and cultural traditions of their ancestors.