The Budapest Ghetto, located in the heart of today’s Jewish Quarter, stands as one of the most powerful reminders of World War II in Hungary. Established on November 29, 1944, by the Hungarian government under Nazi occupation, it was an enclosed area surrounded by wooden planks and barbed wire where thousands of Jewish residents were forced to live under horrific conditions. The ghetto’s borders included Király Street, Dohány Street, and Kertész Street, and it encompassed both the Neolog Dohány Street Synagogue and the Orthodox Kazinczy Street Synagogue — two of Budapest’s most significant religious and cultural landmarks.

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By January 1945, around 70,000 Jewish people were confined within the ghetto’s narrow limits, suffering from hunger, cold, and disease. When the Soviet Red Army liberated the ghetto on January 17, 1945, they discovered over 3,000 unburied victims, who were later laid to rest in the courtyard of the Dohány Street Synagogue. This sacred site remains a symbol of remembrance and resilience for Hungary’s Jewish community.

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The last remaining section of the Budapest ghetto wall was demolished in 2006 during building renovations, but a reconstructed segment now stands at Király Street 15, near the lively Gozsdu Courtyard. This memorial wall, partly made from original materials, and the plaque on the building’s façade honor the memory of those who suffered here. In some hidden courtyards of the Jewish Quarter Budapest, small fragments of the original ghetto wall can still be found, quietly preserving the city’s layered history.

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Walking through this district today reveals not only the scars of the past but also the revival of Jewish culture — where synagogues, kosher restaurants, cafés, and cultural centers now fill the streets with life. The Budapest Ghetto Memorial stands as a powerful reminder of both loss and renewal.

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If you would like to visit this site and see the ghetto wall exhibition, join us on our Jewish Quarter Tour. Discover the stories, landmarks, and resilience of this remarkable community with one of our knowledgeable local guides.