Jewish Heritage Europe

Cross-border project renovates synagogues in Debrecen, HU and Oradea, RO

  Thanks to a more than €1.41 million grant from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), two historic synagogues — the Kapolnas street synagogue in Debrecen, eastern Hungary and the Zion synagogue across the border in Oradea (Nagyvarad in … continue reading →

Synagogue in Tykocin one of Seven “New Wonders” of Poland

The 17th century Great Synagogue in the small village of Tykocin, in northeastern Poland, has been voted one of the “new  seven wonders” of Poland, in the third edition of a readers’ contest sponsored by the Polish edition of National Geographic … continue reading →

How to mark the Kristallnacht anniversary? With glorious synagogues!

This weekend marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of Nov. 9-10 1938 when the Nazis launched coordinated violent attacks on Jews, Jewish property and Jewish places of worship all over Germany and German-occupied territory. More than 1,000 synagogues … continue reading →

Progress Report: Restoration Work on Lithuanian Synagogues

Faina Kukliansky, the Chair of the Jewish Community in Lithuania, has sent us a progress report on efforts to preserve and restore several synagogues, including three of the 14 wooden synagogues remaining in the country. The Jewish Community working with … continue reading →

The impact of returning to the shtetl

With Jewish genealogy a growth industry, and travel to eastern European eased, more and more people are “returning” (actually going for the first time) to the shtetls that their ancestors were often happy — or forced — to leave. The … continue reading →