The Torah ark is an ornamental closet that contains the Torah scrolls, the most holy items of Jewish religion. According to tradition, the Torah ark is placed in the part of the synagogue that is closest to Jerusalem, that is, on the eastern side of the sanctuary. The Torah scrolls were placed in the upper part of this closet, and the lower part served for the storage of other sacral objects. The Jewish community of Kittsee was one of the “sheva kehillot”, the seven communities that were established on the estate of the Esterházy family in Western Hungary, today in the territory of Burgenland, Austria, based on a privilege of the Duke Esterházy. In the seventeenth century, when Jews were forbidden to settle in most Hungarian towns, they received special privilege from the Duke Esterházy to build houses and synagogues, and to maintain various institutions needed for Jewish communal and ritual life, such as a ritual bath, school, kosher butchery, wine-shop. The community had quite extensive autonomy, and had the right to choose their own rabbi and prefects, albeit with the approval of the landlord. From the outside, this Torah ark resembles general furniture art of the period. Its manufacturer might have been a carpenter working for the court, as it was probably also court craftsmen who built the synagogue of the town.