We don't know the exact time of the Jews' settlement, but it is sure that 10-16 families lived in the New Street (Új street) in the 13th century. The Jews dealing with commerce and finance were not so rich. In spite of that, they built the Gothic Synagogue at the beginning of the 14th century, which is unique in Eastern Europe. According to the Jewish religion, there is only one church, where the God is present and that church is in Jerusalem. Therefore, the Synagogue is a house of prayers, a place for meetings and a school at the same time.
Near the Synagogue there was a hospital giving the wanderers accommodation and the ritual bath. There is a corridor leading to the big hall from the entrance. The main door decorated with an arched tympanum and the two edges of the hall are from 1300, the time of construction. The two centers of the Synagogue are the Aaron alcove and the Pulpit. The Aaron alcove is decorated with a stone-frame and a tympanum with grapes and leaves in the colors of nature. Only the foundation of the hexagonal pulpit is original; the other parts such as the structure, the stairs, the railing and the reading surface facing to the East were rebuilt according to the original design.
The women had a different house of prayers with its own exit. They could see the happenings of the big hall only through a narrow orifice on the window.
The ritual bath is an outstanding part of the monument museum. The Jewish religion has always differented between clean and dirty things since the Ancient Age, so the importance of the bath has always been outstanding. The Regulations of Moses prescribe the submergence in clear running water, but here it could be done only in natural fountain water.
After the banishment of the Jews from Sopron in 1526, the Synagogue was destroyed and later it was transformed into homes. The building was restored and redecorated in 1967.
ikonnal bővítheti túráját.
