Jewish Heritage Europe

Hungary: Tracing the history of Budapest’s Dohany Street synagogue through the online photo archive Fortepan

The twin-towered Dohany St Synagogue is a city landmark in downtown Budapest and a symbol of Hungarian Judaism, used for worship and also visited each year by scores of thousands of tourists. The elaborate, Moorish-style building was designed by the … continue reading →

Jewish cemeteries: volunteer “Guardians of Memory” in Alsace

Yesterday we ran a long post about questions and concerns after recent Jewish cemetery desecrations that have grabbed headlines around the world. We also noted the new EU grant toward mapping and surveying Jewish cemeteries. We have written frequently about … continue reading →

Jewish cemeteries: ESJF gets new €1 million grant for mapping in 7 countries; recent desecration in Slovakia is latest in spate of vandalisms, raising concerns and questions

Days after a vandal attack that toppled dozens of headstones in the Jewish cemetery in Namestovo, Slovakia, the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF) announced that the European Commission has awarded  €1 million to a consortium it leads to continue the … continue reading →

Kosovo: Pristina’s “New” Jewish cemetery has been restored as part of a heritage revitalization project sponsored by the EU and UNDP

The “New” Jewish cemetery in the Arberia/Dragodan section of the Kosovo capital Priština (Prishtine) was recently restored as part of a  €2 million revitalization project involving 18 selected sites of religious and cultural significance in various locations around Kosovo. The … continue reading →

Poland: Mazel tov to 2019 POLIN award winner Natalia Bartczak and Special Award recipient Auschwitz Jewish Center

The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews has granted its 2019 Polin award to Natalia Bartczak, who has cared for the Jewish cemetery in Wińsko, in western Poland, for 16 years — starting when she was just 13. … continue reading →