Rumbach Street Synagogue

The Rumbach Street Synagogue (Rumbach utcai zsinagóga), also called the Status Quo Ante Synagogue, is a Neológ congregation and synagogue, located in Belváros, the inner city of the historical old town of Pest, in the eastern section of Budapest, Hungary. Since 2021, the building has also been used as a concert hall and Jewish museum.

History
The synagogue was built in 1872 for the The Status Quo congregation to the design of Otto Wagner, a Viennese architect. Intentionally meant to serve the members of the Neológ community of Pest, its construction coincided with the Schism in Hungarian Jewry of 1869, and it became the home of the more conservative fraction.

Completed in the Moorish Revival style, the synagogue has eight sides and was restored during 2021 with a grant from the Budapest Government. The octagonal, balconied, domed synagogue intricately patterned and painted in Islamic style is exquisitely beautiful. It was built not as an exact replica of, but as an homage to the style of the octagonal, domed Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem.

Historically, but especially since the completion of its renovation in the summer of 2021, the synagogue regularly hosts plays, concerts, photo exhibits and other cultural events.

A modern, revamped and restored building was inaugurated in June 2021. The restoration costs included a US$11.2m grant from the Hungarian state.