In Budapest's Jewish Quarter

It was built between 1854 and 1859 in the Moorish Revival style. It survived the Second World War, albeit severely damaged. Reconstruction work progressed slowly. The synagogue was finally restored to its former glory in 1996.

The Great Synagogue provides room for about 3,000 worshippers. It is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second-largest in the world. It is open to tourists except on the Sabbath, from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

In the synagogue's inner courtyard stands the Tree of Life Holocaust memorial, a metal weeping willow that pays tribute to the 600,000 Hungarian Holocaust victims. Many of their names are inscribed on its leaves. The sculpture was designed by Imre Varga.

Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, was born in the house next to the synagogue. His aim was to establish an independent Jewish state. The building where Herzl was born now houses Budapest's Jewish museum.

Cobblestone-sized copper plaques set into the pavement like those in Germany also commemorate Holocaust victims here - such as these two men who died as slave laborers. Before World War II, Budapest had about 200,000 Jewish residents. Now there about 80,000 - one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe.

Nowadays, behind dilapidated façades, there are countless bars, clubs and restaurants that have made the Jewish quarter an ultra-trendy party district.

Szimpla Kert, the first of what are here called ruin bars or ruin pubs, is especially popular with tourists and locals and appears regularly on the best bar lists of Lonely Planet and Tripadvisor.

In 2014 the restaurant "Mazel Tov“ also opened in a ramshackle ruin. It's a bit more sophisticated than the other bars. Israeli fusion cuisine is served here: shakshuka, hummus, kebabs, shawarma and Jerusalem cheesecake are on the menu.

It's not just the ruin bar scene that has contributed to the Jewish quarter's resurgence. On a stroll through it, you'll encounter plenty of street art, often on a huge scale and very colorful.

The Jewish quarter has not forgotten its dark past, but it has left it far behind. Nowadays it's Budapest's most popular district.