Jewish Heritage Europe

Calendar

Apr
19
Mon
Swedish Synagogue Architecture @ Online Zoom event
Apr 19 all-day
Swedish Synagogue Architecture @ Online Zoom event

The Symposium on Swedish Synagogue Architecture (1795–1870) and the Cultural Milieu of the Early Jewish Immigrants to Sweden will take place on Zoom, on April 19, 2021.

It is organized by the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University, the University of Potsdam, and the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, with the support of the Stockholm Jewish Museum.

To attend, click this link to register: 

The opening presentation will be of particular interest, an overview by Daniel Leviathan of his PhD dissertation project, “Jewish Sacred Architecture in the Nordic Countries 1684-1939.” 

Besides Leviathan, speakers will include Vladimir Levin and Sergey Kravtsov, of the Center for Jewish Art in Jerusalem; Ilia Rodov of Bar Ilan University; Maja Hultman, of the Centre for European Research and Department of Historical Studies at University of Gothenburg Centre for Business History in Stockholm; Mirko Przystawik, of Bet Tfila – Research Unit for Jewish Architecture in Europe, Technische Universität Braunschweig; Yael Fried, of The Jewish Museum of Stockholm; and Carl Henrik Carlsson, of The Hugo Valentin Centre, Department of History, Uppsala University.

Click here to see the full program, with abstracts of talks 

Apr
20
Tue
“Judapest”: Austria-Hungary and its Jews at the Fin-de-Siècle @ Online Zoom event
Apr 20 @ 18:00 – 19:30
"Judapest": Austria-Hungary and its Jews at the Fin-de-Siècle @ Online Zoom event

Lecture by Michael Miller, of CEU

Budapest is sometimes called the “Paris of the East,” but in the 1890s, it acquired a new, less flattering nickname: “Judapest.” Karl Lueger, the antisemitic mayor of Vienna – who hated Hungarians more than he hated Jews – is often credited with coining this derogatory nickname for a city that he thought had become more “Jewish” than “Hungarian.”  Budapest was Europe’s fastest-growing city at the time, with a flurry of cultural and commercial activity that fascinated — and sometimes appalled — contemporary residents and visitors. This talk will examine the image of Budapest in the decades before and after the First World War, exploring the ways in which Hungary’s capital city was imagined by Jews and non-Jews alike as a quintessentially Jewish metropolis.

The evening will be chaired by Professor Mark E. Smith, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton. It will be hosted by Professor Mark Cornwall (University of Southampton, Parkes Institute)

The event will be held on Zoom. Please register by Monday 19th April 16:00 here:

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/parkes/news/events/2021/04/20-parkes-lecture-2021.page

Speaker biography: Michael L. Miller is Associate Professor in the Nationalism Studies Program at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and co-founder of the university’s Jewish Studies program. He received his PhD in History from Columbia University, where he specialized in Jewish and Central European History. Michael’s research focuses on the impact of nationality conflicts on the religious, cultural, and political development of Central European Jewry in the long nineteenth century. His articles have appeared in Slavic Review, Austrian History Yearbook, Simon Dubnow Institute Yearbook, Múlt és Jövő , The Jewish Quarterly Review and AJS Review. Miller’s book, Rabbis and Revolution: The Jews of Moravia in the Age of Emancipation, was published by Stanford University Press in 2011. It appeared in Czech translation as Moravští Židé v době emancipace (Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2015). He is currently working on a history of Hungarian Jewry, titled Manovill: A Tale of Two Hungarys.

May
23
Sun
Jewish cemetery cleanup in Tallya, Hungary @ Jewish cemetery Tallya
May 23 – May 24 all-day
Jewish cemetery cleanup in Tallya, Hungary @ Jewish cemetery Tallya | Tállya | Hungary

Budapest-based researcher and activist Bence Illyés and his “Magyarországi Haszid Zarándoklatokért” Foundation are organizing a two-day clean-up action at the Jewish cemetery in Tállya, eastern Hungary.

The action will be carried-out under the religious supervision of Mazsihisz, the umbrella organization of the Hungarian Neolog Jewish communities.

All those interested in participating can write to: csodakvandorai@gmail.com

Click here to see more about the project (and donate)

Aug
25
Wed
Architecture of Devotion – The Plans of Lipót Baumhorn for the Szeged New Synagogue @ Pava utca synagogue
Aug 25 2021 @ 16:30 – Jan 20 2022 @ 16:30

An exhibition presenting the construction history of the Szeged New Synagogue. The opening event is at 16:30 on August 25 (see the picture for the program).

The Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Center (MÉM MDK), in cooperation with the Jewish Community of Szeged and the Holocaust Memorial  Center, is commemorating Lipót Baumhorn and the 120 year-old synagogue in Szeged with an exhibition.

Baumhorn letter with drawing of Szeged synagogue. Photo: Szeged Jewish community/Rediscover

The exhibition on the ground floor of the Páva Street Synagogue, which is part of the Holocaust Memorial Center, focuses on the New Synagogue in Szeged, built between 1900 and 1903. In addition to the construction plans and the documents on the building created at the time of its construction, the sacred textiles made for the inauguration of the synagogue, including the Torah Ark curtain (parochet) and the Torah mantel will also be on display. The Jewish Community of Szeged has had the richly embroidered silk objects restored for this occasion.

Besides these objects, rich photographic material also illustrates the oeuvre of Lipót Baumhorn, who was born 160 years ago. The exhibits will not only present the twenty-six synagogues he designed, but visitors will also be able to see examples of his secular architectural work, as interpreted by the photographer Krisztina Bélavári. The synagogue that houses the exhibition was also designed by Lipót Baumhorn, so he is being commemorated in a worthy setting.

New Synagogue, Szeged

Curator: Ágnes Ivett Oszkó, Ph.D., art historian of the Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Center

Director of the restoration project for the Jewish Community of Szeged: Dóra Pataricza, Ph.D., historian

Professional consultants: Vera Ábrahám, head of the Archives of the Szeged Jewish Community; Dr. Rudolf Klein, Head of Department, University of Óbuda Ybl Miklós Faculty of Architecture; Pál Ritoók, art historian, head of the Museum Department of the Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Center

Oct
18
Mon
A World Beyond: Jewish Cemeteries in Turkey 1583-1990 @ online
Oct 18 @ 16:00 – 19:30
A World Beyond: Jewish Cemeteries in Turkey 1583-1990 @ online

An international conference to officially launch the massive website and digital database of Jewish cemeteries in Turkey, A World Beyond: Jewish Cemeteries in Turkey 1583-1990.  

The database and web site are a project of the The Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center of Tel Aviv University. We wrote about it when it first went online last year as a beta version — though the site still says it’s in beta, the kinks that some users experienced appear to have been worked out, and we find it easy to search and use. 

Dedicated to the memory of  the oriental studies scholar Bernard Lewis, who died in 2018, the database is the culmination of decades of research by Prof. Minna Rozen (and others) and comprises digital images and detailed textual content of more than 61,000 Jewish gravestones from a variety of communities in Turkey from 1583 until 1990. Rozen’s onsite documentation of the cemeteries was carried out in 1988-1990. The material was digitized in the 1990s but until the web site was uploaded, it had not been publicly accessible.

Nov
28
Sun
Budapest cemetery clean-up @ Salgotarjani ut Jewish cemetery
Nov 28 @ 09:00 – 13:00
Budapest cemetery clean-up @ Salgotarjani ut Jewish cemetery | Budapest | Hungary

Join a volunteer clean up at Budapest’s monumental Salgotarjani ut Jewish cemetery, organized as a “Mitzvah Day” project by the Hungarian Maccabi sports organization.

Jul
3
Sun
Ingwiller synagogue – 200 years @ Ingwiller, France synagogue
Jul 3 @ 14:00 – 16:00
Ingwiller synagogue - 200 years @ Ingwiller, France synagogue | Ingwiller | Grand Est | France

Gala ceremony to mark the 200th anniversary of the synagogue in Ingwiller.

Aug
28
Sun
Koszeg synagogue opening-exhibit @ Koszeg, Hungary synagogue
Aug 28 @ 15:00 – Aug 29 @ 19:00
Koszeg synagogue opening-exhibit @ Koszeg, Hungary synagogue | Kőszeg | Hungary

The long-derelict 19th century synagogue in Kőszeg, western Hungary, is reopening to the public after a full-scale renovation that took place over the past two years. The synagogue, which is owned by the state, will become a cultural centre but also will be able to be used for religious services.

JHE’s Ruth Ellen Gruber is on the program of its first public event, Sunday August 28-29 — the opening of an exhibition about Philip (Fülöp) Schey (1798-1881), a Jewish philanthropist born in Kőszeg (known in German as Güns), who had grown rich as a textile merchant and later became a banker for the Hapsburgs. In 1859, Emperor Franz Joseph raised Schey to the Hungarian nobility — he was the first Jew to receive this honor and took the title Philip Schey von Koromla.

The exhibit is called “A Kőszeg Success Story: the Schey Family,” and it presents Philip Schey’s family, life and work: his economic and philanthropic activities, as well as his founding of institutions.

It begins at 3 p.m. and is organized by iAsk — the Institute of Advanced Studies in Kőszeg, which has played a role in the restoration of the building.

The opening is part of a two-day series of events, “Synagogue Week in Kőszeg,” including concerts, lectures, guided tours, and book presentations.

Jun
8
Thu
200th anniversary Kővágóörs synagogue @ Erzsébetváros Jewish History Museum Csanyi 5
Jun 8 @ 18:00 – 19:30
200th anniversary Kővágóörs synagogue @ Erzsébetváros Jewish History Museum Csanyi 5 | Budapest | Hungary

Opening of an exhibition of photographs by Daniella Grinberg to mark the 200th anniversary of the synagogue in the village of Kővágóörs, near the north shore of Hungary’s Lake Balaton.  The exhibit runs until June 30.

Long abandoned and ruined, the synagogue is now under the care of a foundation that purchased the building and is working  to restore it for use as both a synagogue and a cultural center. It already hosts cultural events there.

The Synagogue of Káli-valley Foundation (in Hungarian, Káli-medence Zsinagógája Alapítvány) officially acquired the building in October, 2020 after a year and a half of discussions, from a Canadian businessman of Hungarian origin, who had owned the synagogue since 2013.

 

Mar
14
Thu
Rashi and Troyes Memory and Place in 21st Century Europe @ Online
Mar 14 @ 18:00 – 19:30
Rashi and Troyes Memory and Place in 21st Century Europe @ Online

For 1,000 years, the teachings of the Jewish scholar and innovative commentator Rashi of Troyes have shaped our humanist, moral and legal values. There is now an initiative to have Rashi and the wider region where he was active in France recognized by the European Heritage Label.

A Public Interest Group has been constituted by the State, the City of Troyes, the Department of Aube, the Region Grand-Est and the Central Consistoire of France to prepare the candidacy for the European Heritage Label designation. The originality of this project to connect the local and regional level where the lack of material artefacts has favored artistic creation and the development of new educational resources and environmentally sustainable tourist networks, with national and international initiatives.

Delphine Yagüe, the Director, and Professor Josef Konvitz, coordinator of the scientific advisory committee for the GIP project, will describe some of the current and planned innovative activities which highlight the European dimension of the site, attracting youth, contributing to the fight against antisemitism, and connecting with the activities of other European Heritage Label sites.

Program 18.00-19:30 CET

18:00: Introduction: Dr. Susanne Urban & Tomasz Wlodarski
18:10: Rashi and Troyes: Memory and Place in 21st Century Europe:
Delphine Yagüe & Prof. Josef Konvitz
19:00: Discussion
19:25: Wrap Up by Michael Mail

Please register for the event here (link to the Google Form) –

https://forms.gle/Wt3Ykc8mDLnvzwBY9

The Zoom link will be sent just prior to the event.

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