The Viennese architect Ludwig Förster designed the exterior for the Jewish community of Pest, and Frigyes Feszl designed the interior, including the Torah ark and frescoes. It was built from 1854 to 1859 and consecrated on September 6, 1859. The article calls the style Moorish Revival and Romantic Historicist, with decoration based on North African and medieval Spanish models.
It is 246 feet (75 m) long and 89 feet (27 m) wide, and its brickwork alternates yellow and red. Twin octagonal towers carry onion domes about 141 feet (43 m) high. The nave is supported by a single-span cast iron structure, with three aisles and two balconies. It seats 2,964 and has an organ, which the article calls unusual for a synagogue.
In 1944 it was part of the Jewish ghetto, and about 2,000 people who died that winter are buried in the courtyard. A restoration finished in 1996 or 1998, depending on the passage.
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