This might be the smallest synagogue in the world 

When you enter the Szanto synagogue in the picturesque town of Szentendre, about half an hour north of Budapest, it is hard to imagine that religious services could be held in the 130-square-foot space. But Andras Szanto, the man behind the Szanto Memorial and Prayer House, guarantees that “a minyan can just fit in here.” 

“It was my father’s dream to build a synagogue in honour of my late grandparents and the town’s Jews who were murdered during the Shoah,” Szanto said of the diminutive house of worship, which opened in 1998 and follows the rites of Neolog Judaism, a Hungarian liberal sect. “Unfortunately, due to his untimely death, he was unable to complete the project.” 

So Szanto stepped in, financing construction with his own money, as well as through grants from the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities and private individuals. The single-room synagogue, complete with ark and pulpit, stands in the courtyard of the home, which once belonged to Szanto’s grandparents, Laszlo and Rosalia Szanto, whom the Nazis deported in 1944. The couple did not survive. Since its opening, the site has become a top attraction in Szentendre, a Danube River town popular with tourists. 

Inside the building, display cases house artefacts and documents pertaining to the local Jewish community. Included in the display is a frayed sheet of paper adorned with dozens of signatures and the words “We want to go home!” in Hungarian at the top.