Novi Sad Synagogue

One of the finest synagogues in the region, the Novi Sad Synagogue is a monumental early twentieth-century temple that anchors Jevrejska Street a short walk from the main square. It is the fifth synagogue built on the site and stands as a powerful reminder of the once-thriving Jewish community of this Danube city.

Designed by the Budapest architect Lipót Baumhorn and completed in 1909, it is considered among his masterworks. Baumhorn specialised in synagogues across the Austro-Hungarian empire, and here he combined Hungarian Secession, or Art Nouveau, detailing with a grand basilica plan crowned by a tall central dome. The brick facade, sculpted ornament and rose window give the building a presence closer to a cathedral than a modest prayer house, flanked by former Jewish school and community buildings that form a unified complex.

Its history carries deep sorrow. The community that filled it was largely deported and murdered during the Second World War, and after the war too few members remained to sustain regular worship. Rather than let it decay, the city restored the building and converted it into a concert hall prized for its acoustics, while it still hosts occasional religious services and Holocaust commemorations.

Visitors today usually experience it through music. Chamber concerts and recitals are held under the dome, and cultural events open the doors to a public that might otherwise never step inside. When concerts are not scheduled, access to the interior can be limited, so checking the local cultural calendar is worthwhile. Even from the street the scale and ornament reward a pause, and the surrounding quarter preserves traces of the community that built one of Central Europe's great synagogues.