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Hungary Exhibit Honors Architect Lipot Baumhorn

Hungary: An exhibit honors architect Lipót Baumhorn in his 160th birthday year. And a new book highlights the stained glass windows in Baumhorn’s masterpiece, the New Synagogue in Szeged

Looking up at the dome in the New Synagogue, Szeged

(JHE) — Lipót Baumhorn, the most prolific synagogue architect in pre-WW2 Europe, is being honored with an open-air exhibit in Szeged, the city that is home to his masterpiece — the monumental domed New Synagogue, dedicated in 1903. At the same time, a beautifully illustrated new book — downloadable for free — celebrates the synagogue’s spectacular stained glass windows and documents their creation by the artist Mánó Róth in collaboration with Baumhorn and Szeged’s chief rabbi, Immanuel Löw.

Both are part of initiatives marking the 160th anniversary this year of Baumhorn’s birth. Some events connected to “Baumhorn 160,” including a major exhibition in Szeged, have had to be postponed because of COVID-19 measures. But a travelling exhibition about the Szeged synagogue is planned in various cities in 2021–2022 and due to open in April in Budapest at the Páva Street Synagogue — another of Baumhorn’s synagogues, which is now part of the city’s Holocaust memorial museum complex. A documentary about the architect’s work in Timisoara, Romania, is also in the works.

The open-air exhibit Baumhorn 160 opened on October 1 on Szeged’s downtown Klauzal square and will run until October 25. Organized by the Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Center (MÉM MDK) in cooperation with the Csongrád County Chamber of Architects and the Szeged Jewish Community, it focuses on Baumhorn’s synagogues — but mainly on his many secular buildings in Szeged and other towns.

Panels in the Baumhorn160 exhibition in Szeged. Photo: Rediscover

Curated by the art historian Ágnes Ivett Oszkó, who has researched and written widely on Baumhorn, it consists of 10 panel displays with photographs and text showcasing Baumhorn’s work in four cities — Szeged and Budapest in Hungary; Timisoara, Romania; and Novi Sad, Serba. Besides synagogues in each city, the exhibit highlights buildings such as banks, homes, office buildings, schools, and apartment buildings.

The new book, Windows of Celebrations in the New Synagogue of Szeged, was edited by Krisztina Frauhammer and Anna Szentgyörgyi and published by the Szeged Municipality and Rediscover, a Jewish heritage and tourism project of the EU’s Interreg Danube Transnational Program.

Cover of the book about the stained glass windows in the Szeged New Synagogue

It describes the history of making the synagogue’s stained glass windows and also discusses the extraordinarily rich symbolism portrayed — symbolism that the artist, Manó Róth, rendered in close consultation with Baumhorn and, especially, with Rabbi Löw, who “coined the visual program of the windows depicting the festive cycles of the Jewish year in the synagogue” and addressed even the smallest design details such as colors and patterns.

One of the book’s aims, in fact, is to recognize Manó Róth as creator of the stained glass.

Stained glass windows with symbolic design in the Szeged synagogue

Manó was the younger brother of a more famous stained glass artist, Miksa Róth, who had commonly been thought to have designed the Szeged windows. The brothers were sons of an expert glassmaker in Budapest. The book provides evidence that Manó in fact was the artist, including a letter from Rabbi Löw which read: “Manó Róth, young glass painter from Budapest, exceedingly overcame the new and difficult challenges with artistic ambition and great success.”

The book also includes a brief history of the construction of the synagogue, with a summary of the seven-page report in a contemporary Jewish newspaper of the inaugural ceremony, on May 19, 1903.

Both the printed book and the downloadable PDF include exquisite photographs of the windows by János Rómer. In the hard copy book, the photos are printed on transparent sheets, to simulate stained glass.

Open House Tel Aviv

Open House Tel Aviv is one of many Open House events that takes place in cities around the world.

One weekend a year, Tel Aviv opens up private spaces – designer lofts, urban villas, unique synagogues, architecturally significant public buildings, curious construction sites, plazas and gardens.

During the event weekend, the public can visit, explore and discuss these sites.

Many people have contributed in order to allow us all discover Tel Aviv from within during this weekend, including architects, developers, property owners, institutional administrators and many others who live and breathe the city ,including some who devote their time to trying to improve it.

The inspiration for the event came from OpenHouse LONDON and OpenHouse NY, and there are several Open House events around the globe.

Jewish Bahrain

Israel Museum

The Israel Museum is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the world’s leading art and archaeology museums. Founded in 1965, the Museum houses encyclopedic collections, including works dating from prehistory to the present day, in its Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Jewish Art and Life Wings, and features the most extensive holdings of biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world. In nearly seventy years, thanks to a legacy of gifts and generous support from its circle of patrons worldwide, the Museum has built a far-ranging collection of nearly 500,000 objects, representing the full scope of world material culture.

In November 2017, Prof. Ido Bruno took up his role as Director of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. To Prof. Bruno’s Welcome Address

In the summer of 2010, the Israel Museum completed the most comprehensive upgrade of its 20-acre campus in its history, featuring new galleries, entrance facilities, and public spaces. The three-year expansion and renewal project was designed to enhance visitor experience of the Museum’s collections, architecture, and surrounding landscape, complementing its original design by Alfred Mansfeld and Dora Gad. Led by James Carpenter Design Associates of New York and Efrat-Kowalsky Architects of Tel Aviv, the project also included the complete renewal and reconfiguration of the Museum’s Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Archaeology Wing, Edmond and Lily Safra Fine Arts Wing, and Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Wing for Jewish Art and Life.

Among the highlights of the Museum’s original campus is the Shrine of the Book, designed by Armand Bartos and Frederick Kiesler, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts in the world, as well as rare early medieval biblical manuscripts. Adjacent to the Shrine is the Model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period, which reconstructs the topography and architectural character of the city as it was prior to its destruction by the Romans in 66 CE, and provides historical context to the Shrine’s presentation of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Museum’s celebrated Billy Rose Art Garden, designed for the original campus by Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, is counted among the finest outdoor sculpture settings of the 20th century. An Oriental landscape combined with an ancient Jerusalem hillside, the garden serves as the backdrop for the Israel Museum’s display of the evolution of the modern western sculptural tradition. On view are works by modern masters including Jacques Lipchitz, Henry Moore, Claes Oldenburg, Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, and David Smith, together with more recent site-specific commissions by such artists as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Mark Dion, James Turrell, and Micha Ullman.

The Ruth Youth Wing for Art Education, unique in its size and scope of activities, presents a wide range of programming to more than 100,000 schoolchildren each year, and features exhibition galleries, art studios, classrooms, a library of illustrated children’s books, and a recycling room. Special programs foster intercultural understanding between Arab and Jewish students and reach out to the wide spectrum of Israel’s communities.

In addition to the extensive programming offered on its main campus, the Israel Museum also operates two off-site locations: the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum, an architectural gem built in 1938 for the display of archaeology from ancient Israel; and Ticho House, which offers an ongoing program of exhibitions by younger Israeli artists in a historic house and garden setting.

Israeli Baseball Team Prepares for Tokyo Olympics with US Exhibitions Games

An official Israeli baseball team is going to the Olympics! For the first time since 1976, when Israel’s soccer team qualified, the Israeli baseball team will be participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After a strenuous year of dealing with the pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been deferred until July 2021.

However, if you’re craving your Israeli baseball fix right now and can’t wait until the start of the Olympics, then you’re in luck. Israel’s team will be participating in a training camp in the Northeast USA, where they will be playing exhibition games against local American teams until the Olympics at venues in Brooklyn, Hartford, Bethesda and Harrisburg.

That being said, the journey to qualify for the Olympics wasn’t an easy one; just back in 2016, Israel’s team was ranked 41-st in the world, but their luck started to improve at the start of 2019. After winning a series of qualifying competitions in Europe, Israel was given the opportunity to compete in the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification Tournament. The team’s hard work paid off when they won the tournament, thus propelling them to partake in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After this win, the team is now ranked 18th in the world.

The 24-member team itself is pretty remarkable; the majority of players have made Aliyah, immigrating to Israel through the Law of Return. Only four of the players were actually born in Israel. Although they do not all currently live in Israel, they are members of the Jewish community and travel with the team to train and play. Not only do the players of the Israeli team share citizenship,like most Olympic teams, but they are joined by their common heritage as well. The team is a true representation of the State of Israel and the growth it has gone through, bringing together Jews from all over the globe, uniting them under one flag and one nation.

For more information on Israel’s National Baseball team, check out the official website, and be sure to cheer on our team at this summer’s Olympic games!

The team is also fundraising to pay their expenses to reach the Olympics, via the “25 Campaign” – you can join the 24 players as the 25th player, supporting them spiritually, emotionally, and financially. See the JNF Project Baseball platform for more information.

Jerusalem Jazz Festival

The Jerusalem Jazz Festival features a rich range of original productions, premieres, one-off musical collaborations, surprising mini shows, improvisations, and conversations with musicians, giving a new perspective to the artworks displayed throughout the museum. The artistic program reflects the variety of styles that comprise the contemporary jazz world, from world music, through hip hop, rock, groove, to supersonic jazz, and free jazz, classical chamber music, big band arrangements and more. The original productions were inspired by the artworks in the museum while other productions adapted the show in response to this creative space. This has led to a three-way dialogue between music, art, and cultural consumers.

This year, the festival focuses on original Israeli music from a wide range of styles. The extraordinary encounter between music and art, the festival’s inspiring hallmark from day one, continues to be a central pillar of the artistic program, with several different shows taking place throughout the museum’s magical sculpture garden every evening.

The 7th Jerusalem Jazz Festival, created by the Israel Festival in partnership with Israel Museum, and under the artistic direction of international trumpeter Avishai Cohen, will take place alongside the Israel Festival on 22-24.6.21, in the magical Sculpture Garden of the Israel Museum.

Zimska luka / Winter Harbour (Hotel Osijek)

Zimska luka restaurant is located in the city centre, with the view onto the Drava river and beautiful green landscape on the opposite bank. It offers Slavonian traditional cuisine, popular dishes and exotic specialties, so it is a good choice for a business lunch, family gathering or a romantic dinner . The menu offers meat dishes, homemade pasta and fish specialties, including a delicious grilled perch.
Besides the high quality of food and service, the restaurant offers a very pleasant atmosphere.

Hotel Waldinger

Hotel Waldinger is a very comfortable heritage hotel with extremely pleasant atmosphere. The first four-star hotel in Osijek, with three star Pansion Waldinger as its integral part, is located in the very centre of the city. Over the century-old Art Nouveau hotel building is protected as a cultural heritage monument, which was designed and enriched with relief ornaments by Osijek architect and sculptor Antun Slaviček. It is one of the Art Nouveau pearls of the city, dating from 1904, redesigned and annexed in 1911.The hotel is named after Adolf Ignjo Waldinger, famous Osijek painter from the 19th century, initiator of the “Osijek School of Painting”. The hotel has 13 double rooms and 3 single rooms, while Pansion Waldinger, located in the hotel courtyard, has 6 double rooms and 1 single room.

Tomislav Vuković

Tomislav is the author of the ‘Jewish Osijek Tour’ which is in detail described in the ‘Jewish Osijek’ brochure (available on this website also in the form of e-Book). Tomislav has already led many Jewish Osijek tours and, being a history and English teacher, he has also been educating the young generations and other teachers at the schools he has worked so far, as well as cooperating on Jewish Osijek project led by Osijek Nansen Dialogue Centre. Tomislav has also travelled to Israel where he attended some specialised trainings, seminars and conferences related to the Jewish history and cultural heritage. If you wish to get to know Jewish Osijek, Tomislav is definitely the right guide for you. His tours are available in Croatian and English and he can provide additional details and information upon your request.

Jewish Osijek tour

Jewish Osijek Virtual Tour

This virtual tour is based on the Jewish Osijek Memorial Route created by Tomislav Vuković and the research results of the Rediscover project. It includes sites significant for the history of the Jewish community, and most of them are located in the city center. At each of the sites, visitors will be informed about Jewish heritage, but also about specific personal or family stories and destinies related to the Holocaust. The goal is to raise awareness of the significance of the Jewish community for the development and prosperity of Osijek, and also to show that the Holocaust did not only happen in Germany or in Auschwitz, but, unfortunately, also on the streets of our city, in the places we pass by every day. The emphasis is therefore less on architecture and more on human stories.If you follow this memorial route, you will find out, among other things, why Osijek Jews mostly have surnames that sound German, what is the importance of Jews in the economic development of Osijek and who were prominent Jews such as Lav Mirski, Julius Miskolczy or Slavko Hirsch.
Fifteen localities form a separate unit that can be easily visited on foot as well, and the Upper Town Jewish cemetery is close to the city centre. Lav Mirski Square was chosen for the introductory part, and the Mother and Child monument towards the end, representing a kind of message of hope. Places can, of course, be visited in a different order. The remaining sites are located outside the city center, so it should be noted that access to some of them is not suitable for larger groups or it is not possible to reach them on foot.
The first two Jewish families, with the Hirschl surname, were recorded in Osijek in the middle of the 18th century, during the Habsburg Monarchy. After long periods of discrimination and persecution, their position had slowly begun to improve since the time of Emperor Joseph II (1780-1790). He softened his attitude toward the Jews by passing the Edict of Tolerance. However, the Edict banned documents written in Hebrew and Yiddish at the same time. Therefore, since then Jews had to write all the documents in Latin, German, or Hungarian. Likewise, Jews then had to take new surnames instead of being named after their father or place of birth. Some simply translated earlier surnames, some described their external features, but the result is that Jewish surnames in Croatia since then usually sound like German.

In the middle of the 19th century, after the Hungarian Parliament allowed the Jews to establish factories, crafts and shops, and to buy real estate in free and royal cities, they started to immigrate much more to Osijek. Jews also inhabited the surrounding villages, and their numbers grew steadily until World War II. Almost exclusively Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to Slavonia from different areas of the Habsburg Monarchy.
Most of the Jews of Osijek were engaged in trade and crafts, and from 1880 they became lawyers, doctors, bankers, professors, teachers and industrialists. The influence of the Jews of Osijek was also significant for the launch of some factories, out of which even presently well-known brands on the Croatian market developed.

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