This Monday, June 10, marks World Art Nouveau Day, an occasion launched in 2013 to appreciate the architectural and decorative style that utilised sinuous curves and often floral or or vegetal motifs and flourished mainly from around 1890 up until World War I.
There are various events planned for the Day — but you can also use it to acquaint (or re-acquaint) yourself with some of the synagogues and other Jewish-related buildings that embody that style.
The most famous art nouveau synagogue is surely that in Subotica, Serbia, which we have posted about a number of times. The synagogue features prominently in Art Nnouveau Day events planned on and around June 10 in Subotica.
Known in Hungarian as Szabadka, Subotica was part of Austro-Hungary at the time the synagogue was built in 1902. It was designed by the Budapest-based architects Dezső Jakab and Marcell Komor, who also designed the Subotica town hall and the buildings of the park in Palić, outside of town. (Click to see an online exhibition about the synagogue.)
After decades of fitful starts and setbacks, the stunning synagogue was rededicated in 2018 after a full restoration.
Read our post when it celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2022
Another wellknown art nouveau synagogue — though it looks quite different from the flamboyant synagogue in Subotica — is the orthodox Agoudas haKehilos Synagogue on rue Pavee in the Marais Jewish district of Paris. It was built in 1914 and designed by Hector Guimard, one of the most modern architects of his time.
There are a number tombs in Jewish cemeteries that embody art nouveau elements — probably the best known is that of the Schmidl family, in the Kozma utca Jewish cemetery in Budapest. It was erected in 1902 and designed by the noted architect Bela Lajta.
Oradea, Romania (Nagyvarad in Hungarian), is a town of stunning art nouveau architecture and rich Jewish history a few kilometers from the border of Hungary. Many of art nouveau buildings were designed by Jewish architects for a well-to-do Jewish clientele, and many have undergone full restoration.
The most famous is a the Black Eagle building and arcade, designed by Dezső Jakab and Marcell Komor — the same architects who designed the synagogue in Subotica.
In this excerpt from a longer video about Jewish architecture in Oradea, the architect and architectural historian Rudolf Klein tells the story of the building:
See some selected events on World Art Nouveau Day
1 comment on “Monday is World Art Nouveau Day — we highlight a few examples of art nouveau embodied in Jewish built heritage”
Hi,
What a fascinating article!
Very inspirational – gives me the idea of planning a journey to the mention places.
As an architect, this article is like MANA to me!!
Thank you very much. More of the kind, please🌞🤗