1846, and was organized as a normal school in 1905, with four grades and about 230 pupils. The first synagogue was built by the former lord of the town, Duke Batthyányi, who sold it to the Jews. In 1880 the community supported building a large temple, one of the most beautiful in Hungary. Designed by Ludwig Schöne, it combined Oriental and Romantic elements. The founder of the community and its first rabbi was Ludwig Königsberger (d. 1861); he was succeeded in turn by Leopold Rockenstein, Joseph Stier(), and Béla Bernstein (called in 1892; ). A small Orthodox congregation, numbering about 60 or 70 members, separated from the main body in 1870. From 1896 to 1898 Pál Jungreis was rabbi of the Orthodox community but his convictions were not tolerated so Márk Benedikt was appointed rabbi. According to the 1910 census, 10.1% of the city's population, or 3125 people, were Jewish by religion. By then they were merchants and professionals, an integral part of the city's culture. In World War II, during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany, 4228 Jews were deported (July 4–6, 1944) from Szombathely to Auschwitz. The community was essentially destroyed. Since 1975, the former Jewish temple has been adapted for use as a concert hall. A memorial outside commemorates the Jews deported in World War II. Population Representation in other media James Joyce wrote that the character Virág Rudolf, the father of Leopold Bloom, his Jewish Irish protagonist in Ulysses, was from Szombathely. Savaria appears in Total War: Attila as a Roman settlement in Pannonia Climate Politics The current mayor of Szombathely is András Nemény (MSZP). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 21 members (1 Mayor, 14 Individual constituencies MEPs and 6 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances: List of mayors List of City Mayors from 1990: Media Mediumwave broadcasting station Near Szombathely, there is since 1955 at a mediumwave broadcasting station operated on 1251 kHz with 25 kW, which uses as antenna two 60 metres tall free-standing radio towers insulated against ground. It is the only mediumwave broadcasting station in Hungary using free-standing self radiating towers. Sport Szombathely is home to the basketball team Falco KC, 2019 champion of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, the country's top basketball league. Falco plays its home games at the Arena Savaria. Notable people László Almásy, born