The synagogue was designed by Ludwig Förster and built between 1856 and 1862 in Romanesque Revival and |Rundbogenstil styles.

These innovations were rejected by the Orthodox majority of the city's Jews, and in the year following the opening of the synagogue a rabbinical assembly in Sátoraljaújhely excommunicated the rabbi of Miskolc.

The congregation decided to remove the organ from the synagogue and put the platform in the centre, in accord with tradition.

This event led to a split in the Jewish community, and the local Hasidim ("Sefardim") separated from the rest, building a small place of worship in Kölcsey street, which no longer survives.

According to the 1920 census, Miskolc had approximately 10,000 Jewish residents (16.5% of the total population) but the majority of them fell victim to The Holocaust.