Slomó Köves, chief rabbi of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH), said in his speech that this was a “great day” for the Jewish people.

“We are alive today … not due to our strength or greatness but because for three millennia, we hung on to the everlasting flame of God’s revelations…” he said.

The synagogue was erected at the end of the 14th century and was in use until 1686, when the Christian army took Buda from the Ottoman empire. The victors massacred those seeking refuge in the prayer house and burned the building.

Ákos Faith Asher is the new rabbi in the medieval synagogue in the Buda Castle’s Táncsics Street.

MTI Photo: Koszticsák Szilárd