The Cetate Synagogue

The Synagogue in the Cetate Neighbourhood is a monumental building of Timișoara, built between 1863 and 1865, in Eclectic style, with elements of the Moorish style, by architect Ignatz Schumann.

The initiative of building a bigger synagogue in Cetate belonged to Rabbi Mauriciu Hirschfeld. It was meant to host the major events of the Jewish community, continuously growing in number around 1849.

The Synagogue was inaugurated on September 19, 1865. The building was erected as a rectangle, and that which singularizes it is the façade with the two massive towers, ending in cupolas. In the middle of the main façade there is a stained glass rosette.

The Synagogue is endowed with a Wegenstein organ, installed in 1866.

The marble plaque at the entrance, inscribed in Hungarian, speaks about the second inauguration of the Synagogue in 1868, in the presence of Emperor Franz Josef. 1868 has a historical significance in two respects: it is the year of the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, and also the year when Jews in the Empire finally obtained full citizenship.

Given the decrease of the Jewish Community after departure to Israel after the Second World War, the Synagogue was closed in 1985.

In 2001, the Jewish Community of Timișoara leased the building to the Societatea Filarmonica for a period of 50 years, for it to be used as a concert hall.

The Synagogue was reopened in 2005, for a concert organised by Societatea Filarmonica of Timișoara.

Text source: https://timisoara.eventya.eu/