Colored litograph of the Dohány Street Synagogue

The colored lithograph of the Dohány Street Synagogue, after a drawing by Karl Schumann, was made at the Ludwig Förster architectural studio, presumably around 1857. On December 15, 1850, the leaders of the Pest Jewish Community decided to build a representative cult synagogue on the Dohány street plot. Three architects were invited to the competition, and finally, after a long wrangling, Ludwig Förster, the builder of the synagogue in Tempelgasse in Vienna, was entrusted with the design. Following settlement disputes between the architect and the Jewish community, Förster terminated the cooperation on November 15, 1857, so the synagogue was completed with the help of Frigyes Feszl. Since the engraver, Schumann, was Förster’s deputy and the lithograph was made at the Förster Studio in Vienna, it is probable that it was made in 1857 before the architect’s resignation. The Dohány Street Synagogue was inaugurated on September 6, 1859.