The Shtetl Jewish City Walks are back, offering guided, on-foot journeys through the history, architecture, everyday life, tragedies, and survival of Jewish communities across different Hungarian neighborhoods. These tours don’t just point out buildings and streets; they open a window onto lived memories and present-day legacies.
April 26 — Inside the Closed Jewish Cemetery
Step into the locked Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery (Salgótarjáni utcai zsidó temető) in Budapest’s 8th district and discover tomb monuments worthy of a museum by architect Béla Lajta. Pause at the turul bird guardian at the grave of politician Vilmos Vázsonyi, and learn the rites and rules of Israelite burial. Who is laid to rest here, and when did burials stop? Guide Dr. László Negyela has answers. Photos and audio may be recorded for use on the organizers’ website and social media. Venue: Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery (Salgótarjáni utcai zsidó temető), 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6. Price: 3,500 HUF.
May 10 — Menorah and Cobblestones: Off to Szentendre!
Szentendre is called the city of painters — with more than a few Jewish ones among them. Beneath the surface lies a layered past: this picture-perfect town was a site of Miklós Radnóti’s forced labor and once home to Jewish families whose prized shops stood on the main square. Guide János Vajda leads a walk from past to present through:
– Kossuth Street and Deim Square: houses of Jewish families and their stories
– Ferenczy Museum courtyard: plaque to Radnóti’s forced labor
– Petőfi Street: former Jewish school and prayer house
– Dumtsa Street: Lajos Vajda plaque — Jewish visual artists in Szentendre’s art life
– Main Square: Jewish shops, family histories, Stolpersteine
– Szántó Memorial and Prayer House: local Jewish history display, Holocaust victims’ plaque
– Jewish House Szentendre (Zsidóház Szentendre): a 10–15-minute talk by Rabbi Mendy Myers
Walkers get a refreshing lemonade at the Cháj Café. Meeting point: Szentendre HÉV terminus, 2000 Szentendre. Guide: János Vajda. Price: 4,000 HUF; with Haver Card: 3,600 HUF.
May 17 — Secret Corners of the Jewish Quarter
Budapest’s 7th district draws the world, yet the true face of the former Jewish quarter still surprises locals. Ever stepped inside a mikveh, the ritual bath? Now’s your chance — and to learn how ritual immersion works. Do you know where the Orczy House stood, and that it once anchored Jewish life? The building is gone, but the walk starts where the quarter’s stormy story began. Along the way, taste a classic: authentic kosher flódni. Guide: Kata Nádas. Meet at the Sisi statue on Madách Square (Madách Imre tér), 1075 Budapest, Madách Imre tér 7. Route: Kazinczy Street mikveh — Kazinczy Street Synagogue — Carmel Restaurant (with flódni bites). Photos and audio may be recorded.
May 31 — In Search of Crypts and Monuments
Return to the closed Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery (Salgótarjáni utcai zsidó temető) for another deep dive into Béla Lajta’s monumental tomb art and the turul at Vilmos Vázsonyi’s resting place, while exploring Israelite burial customs and the cemetery’s long-closed history. Guide Dr. László Negyela is joined by architect Zorán Vukoszávlyev, associate professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, whose research focuses on sacred architecture. Venue: Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery (Salgótarjáni utcai zsidó temető), 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6. Price: 5,500 HUF; with Haver Card: 5,060 HUF.
