| Subotica Synagogue Jakab and Komor Square Synagogue in Subotica | |
|---|---|
 The former synagogue in 2020, after renovation | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Neolog Judaism(former) |
| Rite | Nusach Ashkenaz |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue(1903–1976) |
| Status | Closed |
| Location | |
| Location | Jakab and Komor Square,Subotica-Szabadka |
| Country | Serbia |
  Location of the former synagogueSerbia | |
| Coordinates | 46°06′13″N19°40′04″E / 46.10361°N 19.66778°E /46.10361; 19.66778 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects |
|
| Type | Synagogue architecture |
| Style | Hungarian Art Nouveau |
| Established | c. 1890s(as a congregation) |
| Completed | 1903 |
| Specifications | |
| Height (max) | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Dome | One |
| Dome height (outer) | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Dome height (inner) | 23 m (75 ft) |
| Dome dia. (outer) | 12.6 m (41 ft) |
| Type | Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance |
| Designated | 1975 |
| Reference no. | СК 1035 |
| [1][2] | |
TheSubotica Synagogue, officially theJakab and Komor Square Synagogue in Subotica (Serbian:Синагога на тргу Јакаба и Комора, Суботица;Hungarian:Jakab és Komor téri zsinagóga, Szabadka), is a formerNeologJewish congregation andsynagogue, located inSubotica,Serbia.
Completed in 1903 in theHungarian Art Nouveau style, the synagogue is the second largest synagogue inEurope after theDohány Street Synagogue inBudapest.[3][unreliable source?][4] The synagogue was built during the administration of theKingdom of Hungary (part ofAustria-Hungary), according to the plans of Marcell Komor andDezső Jakab, and replaced a smaller and less elaborate synagogue. It is one of the finest surviving pieces of religious architecture in the art nouveau style.[5]
The former synagogue was designated aMonument of Culture in 1974; in 1990 it was designated aMonument of Culture of Exceptional Importance, and it is protected byRepublic of Serbia. After a long period of neglect, the former synagogue was renovated and reopened as a concert venue in 2018.
The synagogue of Subotica is the only surviving Hungarian Art Nouveau Jewish place of worship in the world. Erected by a prosperous Jewish community, with approximately 3,000 members, between 1901 and 1903, it highlighted the double, Hungarian-Jewish identity of its builders, who lived in a multi-ethnic, but predominantlyRoman Catholic city, which was the third largest of the Hungarian Kingdom and the tenth largest of theHabsburg Empire.
The community hired Dezső Jakab and Marcell Komor, not well established in their practice, who would later make a significant imprint on the architecture of Subotica andPalić, the resort town near the city. The architects were ardent followers ofÖdön Lechner, the father of Hungarian Art Nouveau-style architecture, and later partisans of this movement, which unified Hungarian folklore elements with some Jewish structural principles and sometimes even Jewish motifs.[citation needed]
Besides lending the synagogue a distinct double identity in architectural terms, Jakab and Komor created a new space-conception of synagogue architecture in Hungary and deployed modern steel structure as well as an advanced technique of vaulting. Unlike period synagogues in Hungary that featured a predominantly basilica-like arrangement with a nave and two aisles, with or without a dome, this synagogue achieves a unified, tent-like central space under the sun, painted in gold on the apex of the dome. The women's gallery and the dome are supported by four pairs of steel pillars covered with gypsum with a palm leaf relief. The large dome is a self-supporting, 3-to-5-centimetre (1.2 to 2.0 in) thin shell-structure, formed in the spirit of Hungarian folklore. While many other synagogues utilized light structures, they usually mimicked traditional arches and vaults. The novelty of this synagogue is the sincere display of modern structure and modernity in general, of which Jews have been important advocates and generators.[citation needed]
The former synagogue was renovated in a multi-million project, financed mainly by the Hungarian and Serbian governments, and opened in March 2018. The former synagogue is owned by the municipality, and is a tourist attraction and concert venue, available to the small local Jewish community as a synagogue for services and other purposes.[6]
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| Current | |
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| Former | |
| Destroyed |
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