During the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Jewish communities in Europe built large impressive synagogues to help demonstrate that they were part of modern society. In Subotica the Jewish community numbered 3,400 in the predominantly Catholic city. They commissioned the Budapest architectural team of Dezső Jakab and Marcell Komor to design a replacement of the then current small synagogue. Influenced by the works of Ödön Lechner, Jakab and Komor designed the synagogue in the Hungarian art nouveau (magyarországi szecessziós) style. While other synagogues of the period, such as that in nearby Szegeb, may display minor art nouveau elements, Subotica has the world’s only art nouveau synagogue. Construction took place during 1901 and 1902. The building seated 850 men on the ground floor and 550 women in the gallery. Abandoned by the Holocaust, and neglected during the communist era, the building fell into great disrepair. The building is currently undergoing extensive restoration.