A city is more than its streets and facades—it’s memories, voices, names carved in stone. Stetl Jewish City Walks 2026 opens that world across Budapest and beyond, with guided, on-foot tours exploring the history, architecture, everyday life, tragedy, and survival of Hungary’s Jewish communities. From riverside neighborhoods and closed cemeteries to the oldest functioning synagogue in the capital, the program blends scholarship with lived stories—and sometimes a bagel, a flódni, or a lemonade at the end of the road.
February: Lipócia’s layered past
2026.02.22. – Újlipótváros, lovingly nicknamed Lipócia, is a Danube-side district in Pest with an unmistakable vibe and a deep Jewish imprint. Walking here with eyes wide open means discovering the traces of influential 19th- and 20th-century Jewish intellectuals, citizens, entrepreneurs, and politicians. The route sketches modern Hungary’s tragedies and uplifting moments, Budapest’s headlong growth after its 1873 unification, and the making of Újlipótváros—anchored in the everyday lives of residents, especially Jews, over the past century and a half. The walk ends at ZSILIP, bringing the story right into the present. Participants get 20% off at Brooklyn Bagel. Guide: historian Csaba Katona of the National Archives of Hungary. Meeting point: Rabbi József Schweitzer memorial plaque, 1136 Budapest, Hegedűs Gyula utca 3.
March 1: Inside the closed Jewish cemetery
2026.03.01. 10:00 – Architectural walk at the closed Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery (1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6). Track down memorials by Béla Lajta that rise to the level of art, pause at the turul bird on the tomb of statesman Vilmos Vázsonyi, and learn the rules and customs of Jewish funerary tradition. Who was buried here, and since when has the cemetery been closed? The guides have the answers. Speakers: Dr. László Negyela with architectural journalist Dávid Zubreczki. Expect a rich mix: religious funerary regulations, architecture, scripture, and literature.
2026.03.01. 11:30 – A second iteration follows. Note: photo and audio recording may be made for web and social media. Price: USD 15.50; with Haver card: USD 13.95.
March 29: Óbuda’s secrets and stories
Óbuda is home to Budapest’s oldest synagogue still in use, on the former Jewish Street (Zsidó utca), today Lajos Street (Lajos utca), by the Danube. Yes, objects and archival records keep the story of this once-thriving Jewish quarter alive—but to grasp the microcosm that has marked the district since the 14th century, lace up good shoes, find a great guide, and surrender to Óbuda’s historical, cultural, and culinary charm. Guide: historian Csaba Katona, National Archives. Meeting at Pastrami (corner of Nagyszombat utca and Lajos utca), 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 93–99. Price: USD 14.10; with Haver card: USD 12.70. At the Óbuda Synagogue, participants are welcomed with authentic kosher flódni.
April: Back to Lipócia
2026.04.19. – A fresh spring edition of the Újlipótváros walk covers the same evocative terrain: a district that has shaped—and been shaped by—Budapest’s Jews to this day. The narrative ranges from nation-defining turning points to daily life, from the 19th century’s luminaries to the rhythms of 20th-century urban growth. It ends again at ZSILIP, with 20% off at Brooklyn Bagel for walkers. Guide: Csaba Katona. Meeting point: Rabbi József Schweitzer memorial plaque, 1136 Budapest, Hegedűs Gyula utca 3. Price: USD 14.10; with Haver card: USD 12.70.
2026.04.26. – The Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery walk returns, with Dr. László Negyela guiding a deep dive into Lajta’s monuments, Vázsonyi’s turul, and the texture of Jewish burial rites. Photo and audio recording may occur for web and social channels. Location: 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6. Price: USD 9.90.
May 10: Menorahs and cobblestones—Szentendre calling
Szentendre, often called the city of painters—and with few exceptions, the city of Jewish painters too—holds more than canvas and color. It was a site in Miklós Radnóti’s forced labor story, and once home to Jewish families whose respected businesses lined the main square. This walk traces the city’s Jewish threads from past to present with guide János Vajda, weaving art, memory, and community through stops including:
– Kossuth Street–Deim Square (Kossuth utca–Deim tér): homes of Jewish families and their stories
– Ferenczy Museum courtyard: plaque to Radnóti’s forced labor
– Petőfi Street (Petőfi utca): former Jewish school and prayer house
– Dumtsa Street (Dumtsa utca): Lajos Vajda plaque—Jewish visual artists in Szentendre’s scene
– Main Square: Jewish shops, family histories, Stolpersteine
– Szántó Memorial and Prayer House: local Jewish history exhibition and Holocaust memorial
– Jewish House Szentendre (Zsidóház Szentendre): a 10–15-minute talk by Rabbi Mendy Myers
The Cháj Café greets walkers with refreshing lemonade. Meeting point: Szentendre HÉV terminal, 2000 Szentendre. Price: USD 11.30; with Haver card: USD 10.15.
May 31: Crypts, monuments, and sacred design
Close out May back at the Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery: explore Lajta’s works-as-art, Vázsonyi’s turul, and Jewish funerary practice from a fresh angle. Dr. László Negyela is joined by Zorán Vukoszávlyev, architect and associate professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, whose research focuses on sacred architecture. Price: USD 15.50; with Haver card: USD 14.25. Location: 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6.
Organizers reserve the right to change times and programs.
