Fascinating History

We were so busy during language classes and this last week catching up on work, that I (Nancy) forgot to post about my field trip with our language class on January 17. Mike couldn't go on the trip since he was leading an INSTE seminar that day.
We stopped at several places that day in the Tokaj region of Hungary. I will describe the two I found most interesting. At the village of Szabolcs is what was described to us as the Earthworks. When the first Hungarian tribes came to the Carpathian basin in 895 and 896 AD, they were still mainly nomads. To protect the women and children while they were away, the men built these huge earthen walls to surround the camp. The walls, I guess about 30 feet tall and surrounding an area larger than a football field, survive to this day. We were able to walk on top and see the monument that was set there in 1895 to commemorate the thousand-year anniversary of the Magyars in Hungary.
The synagogue we visited in Tokaj was compelling. Actually, it is not now used as a synagogue, but as a community center. We were told that in the middle of the 1800's, many Jews fled persecution in Russia. Enough of them settled in Tokaj to build a large synagogue at the beginning of the 20th century. The Jews were welcomed in Tokaj and prospered as distributors of the famous wines made in the region. Then came the Nazis and World War II. The Jews were forced either to flee or be sent to concentration camps. The synagogue was abandoned. By the end of the war, there were not enough Jews who returned to be able to re-establish the synagogue and the building remained empty. After the communists left, funds were raised to renovate the building and, just a few years ago, money was received from the European Union to complete the project. Now this beautiful building is used for concerts, plays, dances and other meetings. To me it is a sad reminder of persecution of Jews around the world.