The grand, neo-Romanesque synagogue in Reşiţa, in western Romania, is one of seven local historic buildings that are planned to get a facelift as the city marks 250 years of its steel industry.
The city is providing some funding, and the project will receive further financing from the National Institute for Heritage (with the amount to be announced at the end of June). Work should be carried out in the fall.
In an interview with Radio Reşiţa, local Jewish community president Ivan Schnabel said even the maximum funding available from this program would fall far short of what is needed to fully restore the brick synagogue, which was inaugurated in 1907. The building, which is listed as a historic monument, was described as “in an advanced state of degradation and which needs both structural interventions” and other work.
For this reason, Schnabel said, “we have reduced ourselves to the strictly necessary works that will stop the degradation of the building, and in the future we will hope that there will be more opportunities.”
As a result, we start with the restoration of the plaster on the facade that borders [a] kindergarten because pieces of plaster have fallen and it is a danger for children who play in the yard. We’ll do the same with the exterior façade, as from there bricks come off which endanger pedestrians. We will clean the facade and restore it to its original shape. Problem number 1 is the degradation of the building due to the roof being damaged. The funds are not enough to replace the roof, but we can repair it. So we want to replace the defective boards, in proportion of 40%, which would have the effect of eliminating water infiltration in the building.
He said he hoped that, “if the synagogue can be safeguarded and degradation halted, “in the future, with other collaborations, with other money, possibly European financing,” the synagogue could be fully restored — as have been synagogues in nearby Oradea — and included on local tourism routes.
Watch a video about the synagogue created by a local volunteer group:
Read about the seven historic buildings due to get facelifts
See details and timeline of the potential grant from the National Heritage Institute