The synagogue was built between 1854 and 1859 in the Moorish Revival and Romantic Historicist styles,[1] with the decoration based chiefly on Islamic models from North Africa and medieval Spain (the Alhambra).

It was designed to hold a capacity of 2,964 seats (1,492 for men and 1,472 in the women's galleries), making it the largest Jewish place of worship constructed before the 20th century.

As a special celebratory act to mark the completion of the building, the keystone was placed in the Torah ark with a silver trowel made purposely for the occasion.

[8] Used as a base for German Radio and also as a stable during World War II, the building suffered some severe damage from aerial raids during the Nazi occupation, but especially during the Siege of Budapest.

The Torah ark and the internal frescoes, made of colored and golden geometric shapes, are the works of the famous Hungarian romantic architect Frigyes Feszl.

[13] One of the most important concerts in the synagogue's history occurred in 2002, and featured the organ virtuoso Xaver Varnus, with an audience of around 7000 sitting and standing people in attendance.

[15][16][17] The Hungarian Jewish Museum was constructed on the plot where Theodor Herzl's two-story Classicist style house stood, adjoining the Dohány synagogue.

[19] The arcade and the Heroes' Temple, which seats 250 people and is used for religious services on weekdays and during the winter time, was added to the Dohány Street Synagogue complex in 1931.

The Heroes' Temple was designed by Lázlo Vágó and Ferenc Faragó and serves as a memorial to Hungarian Jews who gave their lives during World War I.

There is also a memorial to Wallenberg and other Righteous Among the Nations, among them: Swiss Vice-consul Carl Lutz; Giorgio Perlasca, an Italian man who, with a strategic escamotage, declared himself the Spanish consul, releasing documents of protection and current passports to Jews in Budapest without distinction (he saved five thousand); Mons.

Gennaro Verolino saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews; Carlos de Liz-Texeira Branquinho a Portuguese diplomat, serving as Portugal's Chargé d'Affaires in Budapest in 1944, who issued protective passports to hundreds of Jewish families, saving altogether about 1,000 lives;[21] Carlos Sampaio Garrido, the Portuguese Ambassador, who resisted the Hungarian political police when the police raided his home arresting his guests, and who, though also arrested, managed to have his guests released by invoking the extraterritorial legal rights of diplomatic legations.