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Western Hungary and Austria
The first documented Jewish community in Western Hungary existed in Sopron in the 13th century and consisted mostly of merchants from Austria and Bavaria. Of Sopron’s many historic buildings, the Old Synagogue, built around 1300, is perhaps the most interesting: it is a relic of a medieval Jewish culture from which very little has survived. However, the only town with in the Burgenland region (now part of Austria) to have a fully developed Jewish community (complete with synagogue, mikvah and rabbinate) in the middle ages was Eisenstadt. The chief Rabbinate in Eisenstadt led a council of representatives from six other Jewish communities in the region, and thus headed the first multi-community Jewish organization in Hungary. Called the Seven Communities, it included Eisenstadt (Kismarton), Mattersdorf (Nagymarton), Deutschkreutz (Sopronkeresztúr), Frauenkirchen (Boldogasszony), Kittsee (Köpcsény), Lackenbach (Lakompak), and Kobersdorf (Kabold). The privilege of self governance was made possible because large land owners and nobility in Hungary were allowed to let Jews settle on their land. The Seven Communities were all located on the estate of the Eszterházy family, who, though nominally the governors of the Jewish community, let the Jews tend to their own affairs. As a result of this relative freedom, the Seven Communites flourished as a rich Jewish cultural center, famous throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
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Western Hungary and Austria Itinerary
1. The tour will begin in a Sopron, a charming city built on the ruins of a Roman town called Scarbantia. Within the almost perfectly perserved medieval inner city, explore the Új utca-New Street, where a Jewish community lived until the beginning of the 16th century. Two highlights will be the two unique synagogues in the district, each built around 1300.
2. From there we will continue to Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland region of Austria. On the Judengasse (Jewish Street) we will see the Austrian Jewish Museum, which is housed in the historic home of Samson Wertheimer, Chief Rabbi of Hungary from the late 17th to early 18th century. Rabbi Wertheimer's private synagogue, is perhaps the most extradinary element of the museum, and was one of the few in Austria to escape Nazi vandalism during the Second World War. Finally, we will visit the Baroque palace of the Eszterházy family who protected the area’s Jewish community for hundreds of years. We will return to Budapest in the evening. |
