Jewish Heritage Europe

On Jewish gravestones and the stone-carvers who made them: a stone-carver’s thoughts on tradition and symbolism

In Ashkenazi Eastern Europe the carved epitaphs and wealth of carved decoration on Jewish gravestones can be richly sculptural as well as symbolic. Unfortunately, little is known about the stone-carvers who created these memorials. We crosspost here an (updated) article … continue reading →

Romania: More Hanukkah cheer as new Jewish Museum opens in restored Teleki synagogue in Oradea

With a celebratory Hanukkah event, the new Jewish museum in Oradea (Nagyvarad), Romania was opened in the city’s recently restored Primariei (Teleki) Street (Hinech Neorim) synagogue. The museum, which includes sections on local Jewish history and on the Holocaust, will … continue reading →

Vanished World 2019 Calendar available for download

The Vanished World 2019 calendar is now available for free download. Each year the German photographer Christian Herrmann, who documents abandoned Jewish heritage sites in Eastern Europe, creates a calendar from a selection of his images and offers it as … continue reading →

Hungary: Scaffolding down at Rumbach st. synagogue; restoration progressing on synagogue and complex, to be a multi-function cultural center

  The scaffolding is down from the Moorish-style Rumbach St. synagogue in Budapest, and work is rapidly progressing on its restoration, including the conversion of its building complex into a multi-purpose arts, culture, and education center that is slated to … continue reading →

Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine: preliminary report on field research 2016-2018

  A report — Jewish cemeteries of Ukraine: preliminary results of studies for 2016–2018 —  summarizes the size and status of dozens of Jewish cemeteries and mass graves in Ukraine. The report, published on by the umbrella Vaad Association of … continue reading →