​The name of the settlement first appeared in a royal letter during the reign of King Béla IV in 1239. “After the [Mongol] invasion in 1245, our King Béla IV settled Italians from the Venetian province in Lyska, within the so-called Burgundia part of the village. They brought the distinguished grape varieties of their southern homeland, laying the foundation for the reputation of the Tokaj-Hegyalja region. The name of the settlement was thereupon changed to Liska Ulázi.”

In the early modern period, the first Jews in Olaszliszka arrived from Poland, Galicia, and other northern Hungarian territories, as evidenced by archival data (tax records) from the 1730s. However, it was only in the early 19th century that Jewish families migrated to the market town in larger numbers, leading to the establishment of the Jewish community in 1810. In 1806, there were 33 Jewish tax-paying heads of households in Olaszliszka. The burial and sick-care society (chevra kadisha) operated in the settlement from 1830. By 1850, Olaszliszka had 191 Jewish residents out of a total population of 2,232. In 1880, the local orthodox Jewish community increased to 331 members (17.6%), which, albeit moderately, continued to grow until the twenties of the next century, although it lagged behind in terms of its proportion to the entire community. In 1920, there were 398 Jews living here (14.5%), but by 1941, only 283 (9.5%).

In 1840, Rabbi Hersele Friedmann became the rabbi of the Olaszliszka Jewish community, who introduced the community to Hasidism, which was spreading all over the region at the time. Rabbi Friedmann came to the settlement as a disciple of the famous wonder rabbi Moses Teitelbaum from Sátoraljaújhely. Consequently, Olaszliszka became one of the centres of Hasidism in Hungary in the second half of the 19^th century. Rabbi Friedmann, with his knowledge and speeches, taught his community and set an example with his modest lifestyle for those who came to him to become his disciples. People even came from abroad to receive his advice and help, and his door was always open to everyone. With his death, the centre of the Hasidic movement shifted to Bodrogkeresztúr, as Reb Sájele continued the teaching tradition started in Olaszliszka.

After the 1920s, life in the settlement became increasingly difficult. The economic difficulties following World War II affected all areas of life, and caused the ruin of a number of grape harvesters in Olaszliszka. The Jewish congregation could no longer maintain its strong presence, and its operations was characterized by periodic financial difficulties. The fate of the Jews of Olaszliszka ended with the Holocaust: in the spring of 1944, they were confined to the Sátoraljaújhely ghetto, then on the 14^th of April 1944, were deported to Auschwitz, where they were murdered.

PHOTOS:

1. The street side view of the rabbi’s residence in Olaszliszka. Rebuilt façade and widened interior veranda, with old roof.
2.  Entrance to the sukkah (pantry) from the courtyard, Olaszliszka.
3. The roof of the sukkah. The roof did not end here. The inclined tile roof visible on the photo is the current roof of the mikve, but originally the building continued from here, both its wall and its roof. The rear vertical boarding serving as the back wall of the attic space was inserted after the roof section was dismantled.
4. Olaszliszka, roof detail. The photo shows the wooden footing attached to the moving element.
5. The pool of the mikve, Olaszliszka, 1985

The Memorial Site of the Olaszliszka Synagogue
(Olaszliszka, Kossuth Lajos utca 15.)

The local Jews built their synagogue in 1875, which could accommodate 500 people. Though this would seem surprising given the local Jewish community’s much smaller population at the time, the building’s large dimensions were meant to accommodate the large number of pilgrims who had by that time started to visit the Hasidic rabbi regularly, and to pray together with the local congregation.

The Hungarian film director Miklós Jancsó shot on location in Olaszliszka several times (The Jelenlét documentary series, 1965, 1978, 1986), and immortalized the post-World War II decay of the synagogue, as the symbol of the destruction of a once significant Jewish community.

In 2015, an interactive memorial site was built on the ruins of the synagogue, evoking the former building and commemorating the Jewish past of the region. Symbolically, the eastern wall features the Torah ark and curtain of the former place of worship, with a Hebrew inscription: “Write this for a memorial in a book” (Exodus 17:8-16 KJV). On the newly built western wall are inscribed the names of the 63 families deported from here to concentration- and death camps on April 14, 1944.

PHOTOS:

1. The Olaszliszka Synagogue.
2., 3., 3. The memorial site of the Olaszliszka synagogue.

The Olaszliszka Jewish Cemetery
(Olaszliszka, Belsőkocsord utca 31.)

In the cemetery, beneath the ohel (crypt-like, tent structure raised above a grave) are the graves of Hersele Friedmann miracle rabbi and Rabbi Hajim Friedlander. The Olaszliszka Jewish cemetery is one of the stops on the pilgrimage routes, where thousands of Hasidic Jews from around the world arrive every year. The cemetery is also featured in the “Jelenlét” documentary series directed by Miklós Jancsó, filmed in Olaszliszka after World War II.

PHOTOS:

1. The entrance of the Olaszliszka Jewish cemetery.
2. Ohel in the Olaszliszka cemetery.
3. The graves of the miracle rabbis beneath the ohel in the Olaszliszka cemetery.
4., 5., 6. The graves in the Olaszliszka Jewish cemetery.