Since 2020 marks the 160th anniversary of Lipót Baumhorn's birth, we would like to commemorate his work with a series of posts. During this year we will introduce his synagogues and most famous residential and commercial buildings.

Lipót Baumhorn (December 28, 1860 - July 8, 1932) was a magnificent Hungarian Jewish architect who built more than 20 synagogues not to mention the public buildings designed by him. His buildings manifest the characteristic features of the late Eclectic and Art Nouveau styles. He used a unique approach creating large (domed) spaces in Art Nouveau style.

His grave was found by Ruth Ellen Gruber, director of Jewish Heritage Europe. "I felt like a liberator, and I guess I was, restoring to the light of this cold, gray day the chiseled memory of this man. It was a highly personal liberation." - said Ruth. http://ruthellengruber.com/blog/

Lipót Baumhorn’s first independent work was the synagogue of Esztergom, located in the Transdanubian region in Hungary. In the reform area, Esztergom received numerous Jewish merchants and craftsmen who erected their own church. One of the leading national architects, Ödön Lechner’s co-worker, namely Baumhorn, was assigned to design the new synagogue that was constructed in 1888. The opening ceremony was led by rabbi Ignác Weisz from Esztergom and rabbi Immánuel Lőw from Szeged.

The synagogue was initially built as a one-storey building, including the women’s gallery in the original plans. The late Romantic style synagogue is 1216 m2 big; on each side of the façade, rectangular tower-like parts stand that are connected with a three-arched arcade hall.
During the World War II, the synagogue was hit by a bomb and was severely damaged. Since then, the original purpose of the building is only reminiscent of the name of its street Imaház (house of prayer).
This work laid the foundation for Baumhorn's reputation, made him famous for his design, and had since been entrusted with the construction of several larger synagogues across the Danubian Region.