Sinagoga i austrijski turista

U vreme kada su se Turci povlačili sa područja u okolini Subotice, u drugoj polovini XVII veka, Subotica je bila samo još jedno selo u Habsburškoj monarhiji, smešteno u ranici između dve reke: Dunava i Tise. Većina ljudi je još uvek živela u zemunicama razbacanim oko naselja. Godine 1702. naseljavalo ju je svega 1969 stanovnika. Razvoj naselja usledio je početkom XVIII veka. Većina kuća bila je seoskog tipa sa dve do tri prostorije. Središnja teritorija grada bila je vlažna, sa potokom koji je tekao sredinom naselja od severa prema jugu. Na severnom, severno-istočnom i istočnom delu naselja nalazile su se tri bare, a u južni deo današnjeg grada tada je prekrivala močvara.

Subotica je dobila status Slobodnog kraljevskog grada 1779. godine, nazvana Maria Theresiopolis prema imenu tadašnje carice. Nasuprot zvučnom nazivu grad je još uvek ličio na selo. Tada se moglo videti samo nekoliko građevina koje se izdižu iznad prizemnih seoskih kuća. To su bili tronjevi tri barokne crkve, toranj barokne stare gradske kuće, i jedva nekoliko drugih spratnih kuća. Sve druge kuće bile su seoske sa po dve do tri prostorije.Većina ulica je bila uska, krivudava, prljava, blatnjava ili leti prašnjava. Borba da se od sela stvori grad počela je u to vreme, a na početku XIX veka veliki hidroinženjerski poduhvati obeybedili su isušivanje vlažnih delova u središtu naselja.

Najvažniji trenutak tokom XIX veka bilo je uvođenje železnice 1869. godine. Železnica je omogućila izvoz robe (uglavnom poljoprivrednih proizvoda). Jeftini transport zajedno sa razvojem trgovine pomogao je razvoju grada. Do ovog perioda Subotica nije nikada bila uključena, ili je veoma kasnila za događajima u Zapadnoj Evropi. Arhitektonskli stilovi stizali su u grad sa nekoliko decenija zakašnjenja. U drugoj polovini XIX veka, međutim, počeo je veoma intenzivan razvoj grada Subotice. Većina građevina koje se i danas nalaze posebno u centru grada izgrađena je tokom trideset godina na prekretnici XIX u XX vek.

Intenzivan razoj kreirao je situaciju u kojoj se u Subotici razvijao novi arhitektonski stil Secesija u isto vreme kao i u Evropi. Eden Lehner i Ðula Partoš su 1893. godine projektovali jednospratnu kuću za porodicu Leović sa elementima novog stila, istovremeno kada je izgrađena kuća po projektuViktora Horte u ulici Turin u Briselu. Nakon toga veliki broj drugih građevina u stilu secesije je podignut u Subotici, te su graditlji kao Marcel Komor, Deže Jakab, Ferenc Rajhl, Titus Mačković, Maćaš éalga, Balog Lipot, braća Vago, Isidor étrasburger bili odgovorni za današnji fin de siecle izgled Subotice.

Kada je secesija preovladala na ovom području izgrađenoje nekoliko od najznačajnijih građevina u gradu kao što su Gradska kuća, Sinagoga, Rajhl palata; i takođe Vodotoranj, Velika terasa i Žensko kupatilo oko jezera Palić, koje je od grada udaljeno svega sedam kilometara.

Iako sinagoga nije najznačajnija građevina Subotice u pogledu svoje funkcije i veličine, to je bila prva građevina gesamtkunstwerk - potpuno umetničko delo - u gradu. To je takođe bila prva građevina koju su Marcel Komor i Deže Jakab zajedno projektovali. Projekat sinagoge pripremljen je za konkurs koji je bio raspisan u Segedinu 1899. godine. Prvu nagradu osvojio je Lipot Baumhorn, a Komor i Jakab dobili su otkup. U isto vreme Jevrejska zajednica u Subotici prihvatila je Komorov i Jakabov projekat bez dvoumljenja.

Gradnja je počela 1901, a završena je sledeće godine. Sinagoga u Subotici je izuzetna građevina sa mnogo aspekata. Umesto podužne orgnizacije prostora kakvu su imale većina sinagoga u Evropi u to vreme, sinagoga je imala centralnu organizaciju prostora sa osam kružno postavljenih čeličnih stubova, koji su predstavljali osnovu konstrukcije. U gornjoj zoni na stubove se se oslanjale horizontalne čelične grede, debljine 80 cm, koje su iznad sebe nosile tambur od opeke. Smicanjem ugaonih čeličnih greda prema unutrašnjosti, od kvadrata zarobljenih uglova u čijim se presečnim tačkama nalaze čelični stubovi, stvorena je pravilna osmougaona osnova za obodni zid tambura. Iznad tambura razapeta je tanka rabic opna kupole debljine 8 - 10 santimetara, čija su krutost i nosivost obezbeđene pomoću zvezdasto raspoređenih rebara visokih 50 santimetara, kojih pri vrhu ima osam, a prema podnožju kupole račvaju se na trideset i dva. Iznad rabic kupole nalazi se drvena konstrukcija tornja, koja štiti rabic kupolu od vremenskih uticaja, i istovremeno u spoljašnjem prostoru naglašava njen položaj. Ovim načinom oslanjanja centralne kupole na stubove, spoljašnji zidovi su rasterećeni opterećenja, predstavljaju zidove-opne, oponašajući konstrukciju šatora. Visina unutrašnjeg prostora iznosi 23 metra, a raspon kupole je 12,6 metara. Spoljašnji zidovi formiraju pravougaoni prostor u kojem je smešteno svetilište sa galerijama. Zahvaljujući ovom metodu formiranja konstrukcije bilo je moguće stvoriti slobodan prostor građevine oko nosećih elemenata, a graditelji su ovo iskoristili i u istom duhu projektovali građevinu od najkrupnijeg plana do najsitnijeg detalja.

Stilizovani motivi ruže, karanfila, lale, paunovih pera, stabljika sa lišćem, čije poreklo se nalazi u folklornoj umetnosti Erdelja prisutni su u svim elementima dekoracije od vitraža, gipsanih elemenata, dekorativnog slikarstva do terakote. Sinagoga je prema tome po obliku, konstrukciji i dizajnu potpuno originalna i jedinstvena građevina mađarske secesije.

Sinagoga je danas prazna. Godine 1979. Jevrejska zajednica u Subotici poverila je sinagogu gradu budući da više o njoj nije mogla da se stara. Od tada je kupola koja je bila nagnuta ispravljena i deo slikane dekoracije u unutrašnjosti je bio obnovljen. Izvesno vreme sinagogu je koristilo Narodno pozorište iz Subotice. Iznad originalnih klupa podignut je drveni podijum na kojem su se održavale predstave. Iako ideja da se pozorište u sinagogu useli bila iz razloga da bi se sinagoga očuvala, pozorište je i te kako doprinelo njenom daljem oštećivanju.

Tokom dvadeset pet godina sinagoga je imala nekoliko domaćina a svaki od njih se prema objektu odnosio na drugačiji način. Česta promena domaćina štetno je uticala na kontinuitet njene restauracije, a rat koji je 1991. godine izbio u Jugoslaviji samo je doprineo otežavajućim okolnostima restauracije sinagoge. Danas sinagoga opet nema domaćina, postoji samo jaka želja da se sinagoga obnovi.

Zahvaljujući kontaktima i zalaganjima Estere Votav, bivšeg gradonačelnika Subotice Jožefa Kase i Samuela Grubera predsednika ISJM iz Sirakuze, pripremljena je molba i sinagoga se našla na listi 100 najugroženijih spomenika kulture u svetu 1996. godine i kasnije 2000. - 2001.

Decembra 7. 2000. godine Fondacija World Monuments Fund kroz svoj program Jewish Heritage Grant Program, odnosno fondacija The Ronald S. Lauder dodelila je pomoć od 65.000 USD za restauraciju najugroženijih delova sinagoge. Nadajmo se da je ova donacija samo početak u pravcu potpune restauracije i revitalizacije sinagoge u Subotici.

Subotica acquired the status of free royal town in 1779, named according to the name of the queen: Maria Theresiopolis. In contrast to the title, the appearance of the town was much different. In this period only a few buildings could be seen arising toward the sky. There were baroque towers of three churches, baroque city hall, and only a very few private two-story buildings. All the other houses were still small village houses with two or three premises. Most of the streets were narrow, curved, dirty and muddy or in the summer dusty. At that time started a struggle of creating a town from the village. At the beginning of nineteen century a big hydroengineering project started on drainage of town territory.

The most important moment during nineteen century, in the development of town, was arrival of the railway line in 1869. Presence of the railway made exporting of goods (mostly wheat), possible. Cheap transport, together with development of trade helped development of town. Up to this period Subotica was never involved or was very late for the processes that were taking place in Europe. Architectural styles were coming to the town few decades later then in other parts of the Europe. But in the second part of the nineteen-century begun a very intense development of the town Subotica. Most of the buildings, that are present today, were built in the center of the town in just thirty years, around turn of the century.

This intense development created the conditions in which Subotica experienced a new architectural style Art - nouvaeu at the same time when Europe. Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos designed two story house for family Leovics, with elements of a new style in 1893, at the same time when the house in the rue de Turin in Brüssel designed by Victor Horta, was built. After that a lot of others art nouveau buildings were built up, so the architects like Marcell Komor, Dezső Jakab, Ferenc Raichl, Titus Mačković, Mátyás Salga, Lipot Bálog, Vágó brothers, Isidor Strassburger were responsible for the Subotica's fin de siecle appearance today.

When the art nouveau style started to reach this area, some of the most significant buildings in the city were built, such as the City Hall, the Synagogue, the Raichle palace; and also the Water tower, the Large Terrace and the Female bathhouse around the Palić lake, which is only seven kilometers far from the city.

Although the Synagogue is not the most significant building in Subotica in terms of its function and size, it was the first building a complete art-nouveau gesamtkunstwerk in Subotica. It is also the first building which Marcell Komor and Jakab Dezső built together in Subotica. The plans for the synagogue were entered in a competition at Szeged at 1899. The first prize won Lipót Baumhorn. Marcell Komor and Jakab Dezső won a commission. At the same time a Jewish Community in Subotica had decided to build a new synagogue and Komor-Jakab design was accepted without hesitation.

Construction work started in 1901 and Synagogue was finished next year. The synagogue in Subotica is unique in many ways. Instead of longitudinal shape, as the majority of such buildings in Europe had, the synagogue in Subotica has a central arrangement, with eight, circularly arranged, steel columns, which provide a base for an exceptional upper structure. In the upper zone the columns are connected with steel beams of 80-cm height in a horizontal line embedded in a massive octagon brick wall (tambour). Above the tambour a thin Rabitz skin (Rabitz wire and concrete shell) of 8-10 cm is put to form the dome. Eight ribs on the top, which are multiplied to 32 at the bottom, secure the carrying capacity of a dome. Timber structure covered with zinc sheets, over the concrete shell of dome protect it from weather conditions. By this method the steel columns are transferring the load of the cupola to the foundations, and external walls are non-bearing, without need of additional supporting elements. The height of the interior space is 23 m, and the cupola span is 12,6 m. The external walls form a rectangular space in which the holly place and its galleries are situated. Thanks to this method of construction, the volume of the building could develop freely around the structural elements, and architects used this to their advantage and consistently adapted the form of the building, the overall building volume and the smallest details to the style of construction.

The floral ornaments in the form of peacock plumage, stylized roses and lilies were made of terra cotta and positioned externally on the facades. Internally the same decorative themes appear on the stained glass panels and the wall paintings; all of them inspired by the folk art of Transylvania. Therefore, the Synagogue has been a completely genuine and unique masterpiece of the Hungarian secession regarding its design, shape and structure.

The synagogue is empty today. In 1979 The Jewish Community entrusted the synagogue to the city on condition that it would be refurbished and restored. Since then the cupola which was leaning, has been reinstated and a part of a paintings in its interior were renewed. For a time there was a theater company having performances in the building. A wooden stage was erected above the original benches. Although the idea of placing the theatre in the synagogue was not to destroy it, considerable damage was evident after the theatre had moved out.

During twenty-five years the Synagogue has had several hosts and each new one had a different attitude to it. The frequent changes of hosts obstructed the continuity of its restoration and the war that broke up in Yugoslavia in 1991, only contributed to more difficult working conditions on the building. Today the Synagogue has no host again; there is only a strong determination for its restoration and a will to correct the negligence of the past.

Owing to efforts and contacts between Estera Votaw, ex-mayor of Subotica József Kasza and Samuel D. Gruber Ph. D. president of ISJM, Syracuse, application was prepared and the Synagogue was listed on a World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites, and on a list of 10 synagogues of The Jewish Heritage Program in 1996 and again in 2000-2001.

At 7th December 2000 World Monuments Fund through its new Jewish Heritage Grant Program, and The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation announced 60.000 USA $ grant for stabilization of the most damaged portions of the roof of the synagogue and for the priority exterior work. Let us hope that this donation is only the beginning of the completion of a task to restore the Synagogue in Subotica.