Jewish Heritage Europe

UK: A Blue Plaque now marks the site of York’s long-destroyed 13th century synagogue

The York medieval synagogue blue plaque

The site of the long-destroyed medieval synagogue in York is now marked with a classic Blue Plaque denoting a historic location. It is the first blue plaque marking Jewish heritage in York. York Civic Trust unveiled the plaque on September … continue reading →

Call for Participants: The Center for Jewish Art is offering a free Webinar to help people navigate its enormous growing database documenting all aspects of Jewish visual culture

The Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem runs the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art, the world’s largest repository of documentation on Jewish visual culture. The Index’s more than half a million images feature a vast … continue reading →

Germany: A 24-year (!) project to document, in extreme detail, selected Jewish cemeteries in Germany is underway

Information board at the Grosse Hamburgerstrasse Jewish cemetery, Berlin

A (very) longterm research project to document Jewish cemeteries in Germany is getting underway.  Over the course of the coming two decades and more, researchers from North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria will be documenting 35 selected Jewish cemeteries in great detail, … continue reading →

Romania: A new book sums up the impressive results of a decade-long project of research, conservation, and restoration at the historic Jewish cemetery in Alba Iulia, Romania.

A new book (but one that may be hard to get hold of) sums up a decade of detailed research, conservation, and restoration work at the historic Jewish cemetery in Alba Iulia, Romania. Called “Histories Written in Stone,” it details … continue reading →

Czech Republic: Watch a video about the Prague Jewish Museum’s “Secrets of the Attic” geniza research project

Looking up in the restored synagogue in Breznice

We have posted several times about Genizas — depositories of worn out or disused ritual and other objects which for religious reasons cannot simply be thrown away. Sometimes they are buried in Jewish cemeteries; often they are hidden away in … continue reading →