Zalai Múzeum 13. Németh József 70 éves (Zalaegerszeg, 2004)

Megyeri Anna: A zalaegerszegi zsinagóga [ma hangverseny- és kiállítóterem] építéstörténete

A zalaegerszegi zsinagóga (ma hangverseny- és kiállítóterem) építés története 243 The history of the Synagogue of Zalaegerszeg (Presently concert - and exhibition hall) In 1982 during the renovation of the Synagogue a rusty, cylindrical metal container was found. The metal container was deposited there in 1904 when the last building blocks of the building were put into place. The metal container enclosed all the paper work about the construction of the Synagogue and about the Jewish Community. The original archives of the Jewish Community perished and the only information we have about the Community was found in the above mentioned metal container. This paper gives an account of the contents of these texts. Jewish occupants moved to Zalaegerszeg in the first third of the 18th century. In 1770 according to a tax inventory only nine families lived in Zalaegerszeg with a total number of 47 people. By 1828 the number of Jewish citizens was 318. The precise time and manner of the establishment of the Jewish Community is unknown, however according to the Hungarian Jewish Encyclopaedia the Graner, Rosenthal, Boschan and Kaiser families played crucial role in the establishment of the Community. The memory of these families is still well preserved in the Jewish cemetery. In 1880 1005 Jewish citizens lived in Zalaegerszeg who comprised of 14,9 % of the total population of the city. The majority of the Jewish citizens worked in merchandry, which was constitutive towards their quickly growing fortune. Their children received good education and some of them became lawyers or doctors. As a result the new citizens become respected members of the society of Zalaegerszeg. This newly founded respect is well represented by the fact that in 1857 two merchants, Jakab Mayer and Zsigmond Kaiser were elected to be members of the local council. From the second half of the 19th century forwards and from the Act of Emancipation (1867. XVII) the Jewish community played an important role in a social life of Zalaegerszeg and in governing the city. The turn of the 19th-20th century can be characterised by extensive building projects that were constitutive towards the wide-ranging development of Zalaegerszeg. In 1885 the leaders of Zalaegerszeg made considerable efforts to increase the appearance and cultural and intellectual life of the city so that it would adequately characterise a capital of a county. Jewish citizens had an important role in increasing the city's image. Private projects of the Jewish Community created a more metropolitan look in the city. Moreover, many Jewish citizens were members of the city's Architectural Committee and the association of 'Szépítő Egyesület' which aimed to increase the city's image. The old Synagogue was built in the city centre in the 1840s on a land that was given by the bishop of Szombathely. The Synagogue was built next to a pub, this pub was in the same place as the present Arany Bárány Hotel. In 1873 the alteration of the Synagogue was already planned, although the Jewish Community needed a bigger Synagogue. In 1899 the leaders of the community with the new president Gyula Boschán who was determined to modernize the institution and the administration of the Jewish Community, the Community decided to build a new Synagogue. In 1900 when the building of the new Synagogue was finally decided, the city comprised of 9782 citizens from which 1333 were Jewish, 8114 were Roman Catholic, 191 were Lutheran (evangelistic), 126 were Calvinist (reformed) and 18 belonged to other religions. In 1901 the Jewish Community was raised from the condition of status quo ante to the level of the Communities of the Congress. In 1901 the elected Architectural Committee announced a tender to design a new synagogue. The costs that were allocated to the building project were 80.000 crown. Five applications were received for the tender. The Committee agreed that from the two architectural plans of József Stern a cheaper one would be the most suitable for the Community. The building tender was won by Tamás Morandini, a building constructor who was a well respected member of the Jewish Community. The building project was commenced on the 19th of March 1903 in the then developing Gyula Wlassics street (today's Mártírok street). The opening of the Synagogue was planned to be held in May 1904, but because of the unfavourable weather and the builders' demonstration for better wages the works had to be stopped several times. The building construction was finally finished during the summer, and the opening ceremony was held on the 1st of September 1904. The intellectuals of the city took part in the opening ceremony irrelevant of their religion. The new, two towered, brick and plaster designed building was a good example of the eclectic Synago-