However, after the Holocaust the quarter lost its vitality and business and gained the reputation of being one of the poorest districts of Budapest. Much of the area was neglected and nobody took care of it during the communist period in Hungary. But it is precisely this shabbiness and the worn-down character of Erzsébetváros that attracts a hip and young audience today. Additionally, there are many young Jews today who return to this area of the city to enjoy its varied cultural choice. In the past ten years the district has seen grand changes and an immense growth of infrastructure with the openings of numerous cafes, clubs, bistros and wine bars. However, the new popularity has led to the launch of building project as a consequence of which many historical buildings were torn down. The citizen group OVAS has made it their primary goal to stop this development and protect the buildings and places that remain.

Dohany Synagogue

In the 19th century Orczy House, a grand building structure from the 18th century was the centre of Jewish life in Budapest. The complex housed synagogues, study houses, apartments, baths, restaurants, cafes, shops, warehouses and workshops. Particularly Jews who came from more rural areas to Budapest found their first homes in this area. In the course of an urban renewal project it was torn down in the 1930s. Kiraly Street, in those days rather busy, served as the main high street for the quarter, lined by a good number of Renaissance inspired architecture. Smaller streets, going off Kiraly street housed small workshops and narrow tenements, giving the district a certain flair of density. At the geographical centre of Erzsébetváros lies the Klayal square, in front of it a market hall.

The three synagogues that serve as name givers to the Jewish triangle are all located in the inner part of the district. Two of them, the twin-towered Dohany St. synagogue and the orthodox synagogue complex on Kazinczy street are in regular operation and were fully restored. The third synagogue on Rumbach street, built in the Moorish-style, is abandoned, after restorations were interrupted for lack of funds. During the Second World War the Jewish triangle took on the qualities of a ghetto and its inhabitant were not allowed to move freely around the city.

Today however, with the revival of Erzsébetváros, Budapest is experiencing a comeback of Jewish culture, and what’s more a young and self-confident Jewish culture.