Jewish Heritage Europe

Clean-up at recently vandalized Jewish cemetery in Gyöngyös, Hungary

  Volunteers have carried out a clean-up operation  at the Jewish cemetery in Gyöngyös, Hungary, which recently was hit by an attack by vandals. The two-day operation, April 24-25 saw dozens of volunteers clearing vegetation and carrying out other work. The action … continue reading →

Maceva Litvak cemetery catalogue annual report on 2014 activities

Jewish cemetery in Valbaninka, Lithuania.

    The Maceva Litvak Cemetery Catalogue has published its 2014 annual report, noting its activities over that year in digitizing Jewish cemeteries in Lithuania, photographing individual stones,  and carrying out clean-up and other operations. It also outlines plans for … continue reading →

Folk Art on Jewish gravestones, fascinating article by Heidi Szpek

The carved decoration on Jewish gravestones in Eastern Europe (and elsewhere) is often highly elaborate, combining religious iconography with folk art. Dr. Heidi M. Szpek, Professor Emerita, Central Washington University, has written extensively about the Bagnowka Jewish cemetery in Bialystok, Poland — … continue reading →

Synagogue in Azores rededicated after restoration

  The historic Shaar Hashomayum Synagogue in Ponta Delgada in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago of nine islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, has been rededicated after a fullscale renovation process. As we reported earlier, it will serve as a … continue reading →