The Synagogue was built in 1856 in Romantic style; it was first by the local Jewish community in 1859.
The financial means necessary for the construction was provided by Fülöp Schey, a crop dealer and the richest citizen in Kőszeg. The unique interior of the building is dissimilar to most synagogues. The building complex is located on a site adjacent to other similar plots allowing visitors to reach the end of the premises on a relatively short route. The community’s house of worship – a small edifice with a circular floor plan and two identical turrets – was built right opposite the entrance. The dome with a hip roof displays a mixture of Classicist and Oriental features. The entrance is flanked by two identical gateway constructions. The reason why the synagogue was built in Kőszeg can only be interpreted in a broader context; we need to look at the changes undergoing in the whole country. The number of Jewish people as well as their influence was growing during the 19th century; by the end of the century their assimilation had accelerated. For the Jewish community, an ethnic group that had been deprived of their rights, it was now possible to settle down and accumulate wealth.
Fülöp Schey who commissioned the building of the synagogue was born on 20 December 1798, presumably in Kőszeg, into an orthodox Jewish family. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a merchant; he already had his own business at a very tender age. He had business relations with high-ranking Austrian and Hungarian entrepreneurs; his commercial activities had been flourishing by the late 1840s. Schey took part in the running of the local factory but his role via the shares he owned in the Kőszeg Savings Bank made him even more influential. He had earned his fortune by supplying provisions during the war and by his involvement in several rail transport businesses. He went down in the history of Kőszeg as the greatest local philanthrope of the 19th century who established several charitable foundations to the benefit of the town. He achieved all possible recognition any local citizen could possibly earn. Emperor Franz Joseph granted a noble title to Schey on 13 March 1859 and from then on, he was entitled to use the name Korompai. In 1864, he was given the title of ‘knight’ in Austria.
He was the first Jewish person of Hungarian origin that was granted the title of baron in 1869. After he retired, he moved to Vienna, but he continued to visit Kőszeg on an annual basis. Fülöp Schey is remembered as one of the facilitators of Hungary’s economic modernisation and, as a philanthropist, an advocate of social reforms.
The last rabbi of the synagogue was Izsak Linksz. As an orthodox Jew, he retained every custom but his son – who compiled the family chronicle – mentioned that his father knew Kölcsey’s Parainesis by heart and preached in Hungarian with a perfect pronunciation. Although antisemitic sentiment continued to rise until the late 1930s, the situation was not really dramatic until the adoption of the first anti-Jewish laws.
Just like in other towns, the local Jewish population was confined to a ghetto in Kőszeg as well. On 18 June 1944, the residents of the Kőszeg ghetto were transported to Szombathely. From there, the captives were deported to Auschwitz; the majority were sent to gas chambers immediately, out of the 117 Jews taken from Kőszeg only 16 survived the Holocaust. Rabbi Izsak Linksz and his wife were not among the survivors. Rabbis needed to be the leaders of their communities in the most difficult times.
Owing to the KRAFT project, a complex urban development programme launched by the Institute of Advanced Studies, the refurbishment of the synagogue and adjacent rabbi houses, standing abandoned since WWII, was launched in September .
The renovation will be carried out in two stages overlapping one another. In stage 1, the synagogue building will be restored, and the external utility supplies installed; in stage 2 the rabbi houses will be renovated, and the courtyard upgraded. The refurbishment of the synagogue is expected to be completed by the end of 2021; the adjacent rabbi houses will have been restored by early 2022.
