The Shtetl Jewish City Walks return in 2026 with a slate of guided, on-foot explorations that delve into the lives, architecture, memory, tragedies, and resilience of Hungary’s Jewish communities across distinct neighborhoods. These aren’t just building-spotting strolls. They weave together scripture and literature, funerary customs, street-level history, and living culture to make sense of a past that still breathes in the present, block by block and stone by stone.
Budapest’s Sealed Jewish Cemetery: Architecture and Ritual
On March 1 at 10:00, the sold-out cemetery architecture walk takes participants into the closed Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery (1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6). The route traces the masterful memorials of architect Béla Lajta, pauses at the turul bird motif on statesman Vilmos Vázsonyi’s gravesite, and unpacks Israelite burial customs and rules inside this no-longer-active cemetery. Who was buried here, and since when has it been out of use? The guides have the answers, mixing theology, architecture, and history—and, this time, literature, from sacred texts to belles lettres. Leading the morning tour: Dr. László Negyela with architecture journalist Dávid Zubreczki.
A second session on March 1 at 11:30 covers the same ground with the same guides—Dr. Negyela and Zubreczki—promising a deep dive into religious funerary regulations and the architecture that serves them. Photos and audio may be recorded during the event for use on the organizers’ websites and social channels. Tickets: 5,500 HUF (with Haver Card: 4,950 HUF). Location: Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery, 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6.
Óbuda’s Secrets: The Oldest Operating Synagogue
On March 29, the walk shifts to Óbuda, home to the oldest still-functioning synagogue in Budapest, once on the historic Jewish Street—today’s Lajos Street by the Danube. Archival records and intact artifacts sketch a vivid picture of a once-thriving Jewish quarter, but the best way to grasp this microcosm—etched into the Óbuda district since the 14th century—is to lace up, follow a seasoned guide, and surrender to a cultural and culinary ramble through the historic heart of Buda’s northern reaches.
Historian Csaba Katona of the National Archives leads the route, blending big-picture context with street-level anecdotes. Participants will be welcomed at the Óbuda Synagogue with authentic kosher flódni. Meeting point: in front of Pastrami (corner of Nagyszombat Street [Nagyszombat utca] and Lajos Street [Lajos utca]), 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 93–99. Tickets: 5,000 HUF (Haver Card: 4,500 HUF).
“Lipócia” Uncovered: Újlipótváros in April
April 19 takes the group to Újlipótváros—“Lipócia” to insiders—Pest’s unmistakable Danube-side quarter, still a cornerstone of Jewish life in Budapest. This tour brings to life the 19th–20th-century world of intellectuals, professionals, entrepreneurs, and politicians whose stories intertwine with both Hungary’s darkest ruptures and its most uplifting recoveries. Expect a brisk narrative through the city’s post-1873 boom, the rise of Újlipótváros, and the everyday rhythms of the district’s residents—especially the Jewish community—over the past 150 years.
Historian Csaba Katona leads the walk, which ends at ZSILIP, where participants get a peek at the present-day community, plus a 20% discount at Brooklyn Bagel. Meeting point: Rabbi József Schweitzer memorial plaque (1136 Budapest, Hegedűs Gyula Street [Hegedűs Gyula utca] 3). Tickets: 5,000 HUF (Haver Card: 4,500 HUF).
Back Among Crypts: Salgótarjáni in Late April
On April 26, the sealed cemetery beckons again. Guide Dr. László Negyela steers the group through Lajta’s sculptural graves, the turul at Vázsonyi’s resting place, and the intricate logic of Israelite funerary law. Photography and audio recording may be made for the organizers’ platforms. Location: Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery, 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6. Tickets: 3,500 HUF.
Szentendre: Menorahs and Cobblestones
May 10 heads upriver to Szentendre, the fabled painters’ town—often, with only a few exceptions, a town of Jewish painters. The picture is deeper: Szentendre was a site of Miklós Radnóti’s forced labor during the war, and once home to Jewish families and their landmark shops on the main square. The walk moves from past to present with guide János Vajda and a sequence of stops that fold art into memory work.
Highlights include: Kossuth Street and Deim Square, where family houses unlock their stories; the Ferenczy Museum courtyard with a plaque to Radnóti’s labor service; Petőfi Street’s former Jewish school and prayer house; Dumtsa Street’s Lajos Vajda plaque, a gateway to the role of Jewish artists in Szentendre’s creative life; the Main Square’s Jewish shops, family tales, and Stolpersteine; the Szántó Memorial and Prayer House, with a local history exhibit and a Holocaust memorial; and the Szentendre Jewish House for a 10–15 minute talk by Rabbi Mendy Myers. The Cháj Café greets walkers with fresh lemonade. Meeting point: Szentendre HÉV terminal (2000 Szentendre). Tickets: 4,000 HUF (Haver Card: 3,600 HUF).
Cemetery Masterworks: May Finale
May 31 closes the spring sequence back at Salgótarjáni Street Cemetery, where Dr. László Negyela is joined by architect Zorán Vukoszávlyev, an associate professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, whose research centers on sacred architecture. Together, they parse the art-and-ritual logic of the cemetery’s crypts and tombs, from Lajta’s monumental language to Vázsonyi’s emblematic turul. Tickets: 5,500 HUF (Haver Card: 5,060 HUF). Location: 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6.
Organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs.
