Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

30 EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE AT A GLANCE

Jewish Culture

One of the key heart lands of Jewish

culture, Eastern and Central Europe was

home to two main groups of Jewish

commu nities. The first to arrive were the

Ashkenazi, who emi grated from the Rhine

valley from the 12th century onwards. They

were followed by the Sephardic Jews,

who, after being expelled from Spain in

1492, resettled in South Eastern Europe. Although

over 90 per cent of the region’s Jewish pop ulation

per ished during World War II, traces of their heritage

can still be seen in the carefully preserved historic

quarters of many European cities.

A 19th-century line engraving

depicting the expulsion of Jews

from Spain on the orders of King

Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

JEWISH HERITAGE

Eastern and Central Europe’s rich Jewish heritage

is evident in the large number of synagogues

found across the region. Dating from the 1850s,

Budapest’s Great Synagogue (see p353) is a

testament to the size and prestige of Hungary’s

Jewish community. Built in the Moorish Revival

style, the inte rior features both Byzantine and

Gothic elements.

The old historic quarter of Třebíč (see p278),

in the Czech Republic, is a beautifully preserved

example of one of the small towns once dominated

by Jewish trading families.

Sofia Synagogue

(see p606), built in 1909

to serve the city’s growing

Jewish community, is

an impressive combina -

tion of Oriental and Art

Nouveau styles.

Menorah

candlestick

Tallinn’s Beit Bella Synagogue,

inaugurated in 2007, is the first

synagogue to open in Estonia

since the destruction of the ear-

lier one during World War I. It

hosts many concerts and events.

Vilnius’s Choral Synagogue was the

only one in the Lithuanian capital to

survive World War II unscathed. It

was completed in 1903 for a congre-

gation that introduced choral singing

into their religious services.