Jewish Heritage Europe

Poland: Refurbished former synagogue in Wojsławice opens with new permanent exhibit on the township’s multicultural heritage

(JHE) — The former synagogue of Wojsławice, a township in southeastern Poland, was inaugurated in November as a cultural center, with a new permanent exhibit focusing on the township’s pre-WW2 multicultural tradition. A mezuzah was affixed to the entrance as … continue reading →

UK: Invisible City — a site-specific sound art installation at Willesden Jewish Cemetery, part of its innovative new House of Life heritage experience

Visitors to the historic Willesden Jewish Cemetery in London this winter can immerse themselves in a site-specific, outdoor sound art installation called Invisible City, which uses voices and memories to evoke the lives of the thousands of people buried there. … continue reading →

Spain: 3-year restoration work at medieval synagogue in Hijar is winding up; remarkable finds during the process, including remains of the bimah, document its history

This anonymous, early 15th century Catalan painting "Christ Among the Doctors" shows what the bimah in the medieval Hijar synagogue probably looked like. The painting is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

(JHE) — Extensive restoration work is winding up at the former medieval synagogue in Híjar, a small town in the northern Spanish region of Aragon. The first stage of work in 2017  revealed striking evidence of the building’s history, including … continue reading →

Netherlands: At 17th century Beth Haim Portuguese Jewish Cemetery in Ouderkerk, opening of visitors center is final step in 6-year development project. Plus – 3D models are available of 100 elaborate gravestones

(JHE) — A small visitors’ center has been opened at the historic Beth Haim Portuguese Jewish cemetery in Ouderkerk, completing a development project for the cemetery launched in 2014 on the 400th anniversary of its foundation in 1614. Around 28,000 … continue reading →

Poland: the inventory of Warsaw’s Bródno Jewish cemetery has been completed. So far, the inscriptions on only 2,184 out of c. 40,000 stones could be read — the others have to wait til the stones are lifted

(JHE) — Mazel tov! Researchers have completed the gargantuan task of making an inventory of the c. 40,000 headstones in Warsaw’s Bródno Jewish cemetery — most of which were uprooted during and after WW2 and have been lying piled up … continue reading →