Jewish Heritage Europe

Hungary: an art historian hikes the perimeter of Budapest’s vast Kozma street Jewish cemetery to make an exciting discovery — a long forgotten monument by the noted architect Béla Lajta

(JHE) — An intrepid art historian acting on a hunch hiked along the perimeter of Budapest’s vast Kozma street Jewish cemetery to make an exciting discovery — a long forgotten sculptural monument by the noted architect Béla Lajta that marks … continue reading →

JHE Photo Essay: for Tu B’Shvat 2023 — Trees and fruit in Jewish decorative art; in synagogues, on gravestones, and as part of ritual objects

Tu B’Shvat — the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat — begins tonight. It is known as “the New Year for Trees:” the time of year when the earliest-blooming trees in the land of Israel start to flower.  It is the custom … continue reading →

Germany: Watch the film of “Ritual Echoes,” a sound installation performance piece by Avery Gosfield centered on the monumental medieval mikvah in Speyer

As we noted at the time, the Italy-based American musician Avery Gosfield, a specialist in early music, was awarded one of the three first-time artist-in-residence fellowships presented by the ShUM cities project.  Her work, titled “Ritual Echoes,” entailed creation of a sound … continue reading →

Poland: New video about a Mezuzah Trail in Krakow that focuses attention on the still visible traces where mezuzahs were affixed before WW2

A tour guide in Krakow who specializes in Jewish history and culture has been tracing the sites on doorposts in the city where mezuzahs were once affixed and has developed a “mezuzah trail” of about 50 of these places to … continue reading →

Poland: An artist who escaped to Poland from Ukraine created a spectacular mirror mandala mural on the wall of the Jewish cemetery in Kalisz

(JHE) — A Belarus-born artist who escaped to Poland from Ukraine has created a spectacular mural made from thousands of fragments of mirrors  that extends across the outside of the wall of the Jewish cemetery in Kalisz.  Titled “Source,” the … continue reading →