Sopron - Old Synagogue

(Local Name: Zsinagóga) The Old Synagogue from 1300-20, one of the oldest in Europe, was the first house of prayer of the Jewish community in Sopron. The actual synagogue stands in the courtyard behind the two Baroque houses (façade from 1734) as non-Catholic churches were not allowed to be built on the streets; the front was used for shops and administration. Under a high pyramid roof the Old Synagogue consists of a large two-storied prayer hall, a prayer hall for women (joined to one other only by observation slits) and the ritual bath. Access to the main hall with its reconstructed wooden beams is via an Early Gothic doorway on the north side.

The synagogue in the courtyard of the house at Új utca 11 was built in 1370 as the private prayer house of a Viennese Jew. It was converted into a residential house after 1526, as was the Old Synagogue; its original purpose was only discovered during restoration work following the Second World War.