Jewish Heritage Europe

Netherlands: Drought makes hidden gravestones visible at 400-year-old Ouderkerk Jewish cemetery

This summer’s prolonged heatwave and drought in Europe has had an unexpected effect: it has exposed buried gravestones, showing their layout in the historic Beth Haim Portuguese (Sephardic) Jewish cemetery at Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, located near Amsterdam at the confluence … continue reading →

Update: Synagogue complex & Renovation in Włodawa, Poland

As we anticipated last year, renovation is under way at the important synagogue complex in Włodawa, in southeastern Poland on the border with Belarus. Current work, expected to be completed by 2019, entails repairs to the exterior of the Great … continue reading →

On the road in CZ: the rural Jewish world of Police; a tiny village synagogue under restoration

The Jewish community in the village of Police in the southern Czech Republic dwindled away by the early 20th century, but its 18th century synagogue is under renovation to serve as a culture center and museum about the lost world … continue reading →

On the road in CZ: A place for Jewish women…and memory…in Plzeň

The Old Synagogue in Plzeň, Czech Republic, built in 1859, is now part of a community, heritage, and memorial complex. It provides a relatively rare example of a two-storey women’s gallery, which the architectural historian Samuel D. Gruber describes and … continue reading →

On the Road in CZ (and PL): Revisiting the historic Jewish cemeteries in Osoblaha and Biała

The centuries-old Jewish cemetery in Osoblaha, a remote little town on the Czech-Polish border, is unique in the Czech Republic because of the strong influence of Polish/Silesian-style gravestone art. It has some 313 surviving gravestones (out of possibly 1200); the … continue reading →