Over the past year, we have posted more than 220 items in our Jewish Heritage Europe news feed. As 2015 comes to an end, we thought we would draw attention to our most-shared posts of the past year….they encompass a wide range of subjects — and geographical locations.
In this post, we list — in backwards chronological order — our most popular items from January through June. (We listed the second half of the year in a previous post.)
Thanks for your interest and for sharing — some of these posts have been shared hundreds of times!
Prague’s Meisels synagogue reopens with new exhibit
June 29, 2015
The historic Maisels synagogue in Prague, a key part of the Jewish Museum in Prague, reopens July 1 with a revamped permanent exhibition on Jewish history called Jews in the Bohemian Lands 10th-18th century. The building had been closed to the public since April 2014 during the refurbishment.
Rare Jewish gravestones discovered in Lithuania
June 8, 2015
One was used as a mill stone. The other is a very rare example of a polychrome grave marker made out of tin.
Historic images of Jewish heritage in Eastern Europe from An-sky expeditions
June 7, 2015
An extraordinary four-part series of videos put together by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter based on the collections of the Jewish author, playwright and researcher S. An-sky, who led a series of ethnographic expeditions in 1912-1914 to document Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement.
Romania: Significant progress in restoration of Great Synagogue in Iasi
June 5, 2015
The scaffolding that had shrouded the building since 2005 has come down, revealing the restored exterior (which leaves the stone work exposed) and new roof. Work is also progressing on the interior.
New Holocaust Memorial in Seduva, Lithuania
June 1, 2015
A Holocaust memorial has been dedicated in Šeduva, Lithuania, as the first stage of a much broader complex there aimed at memorializing Šeduva Jews, which will be officially opened later this year.
Jewish Museum opens in Portugal
May 29, 2015
The Jewish community in Porto, in northern Portugal, has opened a museum in the grand Kadoorie Mekor Chaim Synagogue there.
Jewish cemeteries and art — watercolor of Kerepesi Jewish cemetery in Budapest
April 29, 2015
A recent, evocative watercolor sketch of the long-neglectedKerepesi Jewish cemetery in Budapest, which was sent to us by the painter, Lindsay Topping.
Synagogue in Azores rededicated after renovation
April 24, 2015
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.
For Yom HaShoah — Names and Memory
April 14, 2014
Yom ha Shoah, Israel and the Jewish world’s annual day of remembrance of the Holocaust, is observed this week. We thought it would be appropriate to highlight some of the many monuments and memorials that keep alive the memory of those who were murdered — and the living Jewish worlds that were destroyed.
Glass mosaic dome of Uzhgorod synagogue to be restored
April 13, 2015
Plans have been announced to restore the glass mosaic dome of the former synagogue in Uzhgorod, Ukraine.
Congratulations to Riga Ghetto Museum for online award nomination
April 12, 2015
Mazel tov to the Riga Ghetto Museum, whose recently redesigned web site has been nominated for a“Webby” award in the cultural institutions category. The Webbys are awarded by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS) to honor excellence on the internet.
Virtual Jewish Museum — Moldova
March 30, 2015
The Jewish community in Moldova recently launched an online Jewish museum — the “On the Trails of History” Virtual Museum of Judaica in Moldova.
Turkey: Great Synagogue in Edirne opens after renovation
March 26, 2015
The Great Synagogue in Edirne, Turkey, has been reopened after a $2.5 million, 5-year government-funded restoration process that brought the once-ruined building back to its original glory. The synagogue will be consecrated for religious use as well as for general cultural purposes as a museum.
Exhibit shows models of destroyed Latvian synagogues
March 15, 2015
The Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum has constructed models of 21 of the more than 200 synagogues that stood in Latvia before World War II.
Italy: synagogue in Trani reopens after refurbishment
March 4, 2015
The medieval Scolanova synagogue in Trani, in southern Italy’s Puglia region, has reopened after a six-month process of preservation and repair work that included cleaning and treating the interior walls and the exterior facade as well as repairing the roof, which had presented signs of possible impending collapse.
Croatia: Repairs on Split synagogue — new video
March 3, 2015
The David Berg Foundation, via the World Monuments Fund, providedfunding for urgent repairs on the early 16th century synagogue in Split, Croatia, to counter water infiltration damage.
Belgium: Local Muslims helping save synagogue
March 3, 2015
Local Muslims in the town of Arlon, in southeast Belgium, are appealing to raise funds to repair the town’s synagogue.
RIP Leonard Nimoy: Mr. Spock and images of Blessing Hands
March 1, 2015
The death of the actor Leonard Nimoy, legendary for the half-human, half-Vulcan Star Trek character Mr. Spock, has focussed attention on his iconic “Live Long and Prosper” divided-finger hand gesture that was based on the hands raised in blessing by the Cohanim in Jewish tradition — a common motif a common motif found on the gravestones of Cohanim, or descendants of the priestly tribe, and in the ornamentation of Arks in synagogues.
Will Oscar-winning Polish movie Ida spark new tourist routes?
February 25, 2015
Tourism to Jewish heritage sites in Poland, and in Krakow in particular, was boosted after Steven Spielberg’s film “Schindler’s List,” which was filmed in Krakow’s old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, came out (and won an Academy Award) more than 20 years ago. Will Ida do the same for elsewhere in Poland?
Latvia: Renovation plans for the Great Synagogue in Ludza
February 23, 2015
The Great Synagogue of Ludza, Latvia — the oldest surviving synagogue in the country — is currently undergoing renovation that will transform it into a museum.
Poland: Adopt-a-Jewish-Cemetery project launched
February 6, 2015
The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ) has announced a new “Adopt a Jewish Cemetery” initiative aimed at finding partners to commemorate family roots and Holocaust victims by helping maintain, mark or restore Jewish cemeteries in Poland.
New Technologies: The Jewish cemetery in Bialytok…by drone
January 18, 2015
New technologies are changing the way we can document Jewish heritage sites — or at least how we can see them in the context of their surroundings.
Poland: Catholic church urges Poles to care for Jewish heritage sites
January 16, 2015
The Catholic Church in Poland has called on Polish Catholics to care for Jewish cemeteries, synagogues and other physical traces of the pre-war Jewish population, and also care for the graves of Holocaust victims.
Turkey: Recent synagogue restorations
January 11, 2015
Several synagogues in Turkey have recently been restored by city or state authorities for use as cultural centers and also worship.