The Romania edition of vice.com has published a poignant photo essay with text on the “Philanthropy” Jewish cemetery in Bucharest, which the author, Alexandru Vazaru, calls the “wildest and saddest place” in central Bucharest.
It’s worth a look….The photos show the thousands of gravestones buried in vegetation, with many of them broken — from damage undergone during a major earthquake in 1977. Vazaru wonders about the future of the site, as the former cemetery administer who guides him says that for 98 percent of the stones there are no family members to care for them.
“We are trying to clean up every year, but lost the war with nature,” he is quoted as saying.
Located at Blvd. Ion Mihalache 89-91, this is the main Ashkenazi cemetery in Bucharest and was founded in the mid-19th century, around 1865. It has a large and elaborate, domed pre-burial house and a striking art deco entry gate. Many prominent people are buried here, and there is a memorial to Jewish soldiers killed in World War I.
Click to read article and see photos
4 comments on “Photo essay on the Jewish cemetery in Bucharest, where nature and vegetation are winning the battle”
Does anybody know when it opens or a phone number to cal, I am here but no one was there to open
You can find links to contact information for Romanian Jewish communities on our web site https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/romania/communal-contacts/
How very, very sad. I don’t know if any of my ancestor’s are buried there but, it’s heartbreaking to see the devastation of the cemetery. I don’t know why Bucharest seems to not care for their Jewish dead like they do in Transylvania. I’m new to genealogy but everything I’ve heard about Romania so far makes me understand why my maternal grandparents came to America. I hope that someone financially able to will consider helping to bring about the restoration of the Jewish cemeteries in Bucharest, my heritage.
it is so sad, maybe the community that has moved to Italy or Israel can be called on to contribute this really needs attention and obviously such a small community cannot manage it on its own