But that's the best way to describe the Dohany Streeet Synagogue. For starters, it is the largest synagogue in all of Europe - seating 3,000.
This was built in the 1850s, with an emphasis on architectural influences from the Middle East. The physical structure remained more or less the same until World War II arrived. The complex was bombed in 1939, and suffered other damage during the war. It wasn't completely fixed up for many years, but still served as a prayer center during the Communist years.
But when freedom came to Hungary, the rebuilders went to work - starting in 1991. It took seven years, but it was back to a fully working synagogue in 1998.
The area contains a museum, small temple, cemetery, and a Holocaust Memorial Park. The latter is important, since 400,000 Hungarian Jews were killed. We really need a video and not just a photo:
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