(JHE) — The restoration of the former synagogue in Seini, in northwest Romania, is now under way. As we posted last year, the €2.4 million project will transform the long-disused building complex into a Museum of the Jews of Transylvania, concert hall, and cultural space.
An announcement launching the work was issued this past May, stating that the restoration should be completed by the end of August 2025. The project is mainly financed via EU funding, with also a grant from the state.
This video from local TV shows the state of the work:
The town of Seini — located between Satu Mare and Baie Mare — obtained ownership of the dilapidated synagogue building in 2019, and already published plans for the project, including cost estimate, in April 2021.
It said the goal is to bring back as much as possible, from an architectural standpoint, the condition of the synagogue as it was when built in 1904, but to install up-to-date tech and facilities such as modern lighting, a sound system, heating and air-conditioning, and other components.
The Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania (FEDROM), it said, had promised to donate Judaica items to form part of the museum exhibition.
The plans also call for the restoration of the synagogue’s annex, once the kosher butcher shop, into an administrative space that also would host storage, a cloakroom, restrooms, and the like. And the synagogue’s yard is to be restored as a small public park with paths, benches and a fountain.
The plans also call for the restoration of the synagogue’s annex, once the kosher butcher shop, into an administrative space that also would host storage, a cloakroom, restrooms, and the like. And the synagogue’s yard is to be restored as a small public park with paths, benches and a fountain.
According to 2mnews-ro, under communism in 1984 the FEDROM sold the synagogue to a local cooperative which used it as a warehouse. The cooperative sold it to a private person in 1998, and the municipality purchased it in 2019 after this owner’s death.
The Jewish community in Seini dated from the late 18th century, and the town became a major centre of Jewish printing in the first half of the 20th century. Its Jewish population of around 615 people were deported to Auschwitz in 1944; some survived and reestablished the community after the war, but virtually all eventually emigrated.
See web site for the synagogue restoration project
See announcement of the restoration launch, from May 2024, with details of plans
See the plans for the restoration published by the city in 2021