Bucharest Heritage
Bucharest Heritage
“Nowhere in the world is Autumn as beautiful as in the old lanes of Bucharest. An Autumn like a children’s dream of gold that overwhelms with country perfume and with reminders. A dream-like state in every stone…”
Tia Peltz, painter and designer. A Romanian of Jewish origin.
Short History
The Jewish comminity used to be the largest minority community in Bucharest.
Bucharest jews are mentioned for the first time in a rabbinical correspondence dating back to the 16th century. The first documented evidence of a jewish presence in Bucharest, from 1550, names 8 jews, two of whom, Isac Rufus and Habib Amato, ‘have a shop’.
In 1930, 69, 885 jews lived in Bucharest, representing 11% of the population.
The events of the second world war and then of the emigration to Israel caused a great drop in the jewish population in Bucharest. Today it stands at less than 10,000 jews. In the place of the old jewish center today stands Bucharest’s commercial center. Even still, some of the houses are reminiscent of those that once stood in that area. A state-run jewish theatre still shows productions today.
The synagogues and cemeteries of Bucharest
In Bucharest you will find many synagogues and two jewish cemeteries. The first cemetery, on Giurgiu street, is Sephardic – for those who are descended from the Spanish jews, expelled from Spain by the Alhambra decree of 1492.
“… they are the oldest jews in Bucharest and they eternally represent the culture and refinement of their countrymen”
The second cemetary, on Mihalache Boulevard is of the Ashkenazi rite. The word ‘ashkenaz’ signifying a German name in medieval hebrew, refers to those jews of German descent, who spread Yiddish through northern Europe.
There are some Romanian artists of Jewish descent who found fame across the ocean. Edward Goldenberg Robinson was born in Bucharest in 1893 and died in Hollywood in 1973. One of the greatest American actors of the last century was of Romanian origin.
Sergiu Comissiona was born in Bucharest in 1928 and died in Oklahoma in 2005. He was an israeli violinist and musical director. In 1977 he became the director of the ‘American Symphony’ orchestra in New York.
Jewish Heritage Bucharest today
Let’s discover together a few of the jewels of Jewish Bucharest , let’s remember the old jewish streets and admire their beautiful houses , the beautiful synagogues, the jewish cvemeteries… Let’s go back in time…
The Choral Temple
This is certainly the most important Bucharest’s synagogue , it dates back from 1856. The Temple as it appears today is the result of an interior and exterior reconstruction in 1933. The Choral Temple is one of the precious few Romanian synagogues whose architects are known. A rich decoration to the interiors including lavish furnishing and lighting, add yet more to the grandeur of the temple.
The Great Synagogue & The Holocaust Museum
Founded in 1850 by a congregation of Polish Jews, the synagogue was first restored in 1865 and was adapted to electric lighting in 1915. In 1980 it was turned into the Romanian Jewish history Museum
The Jewish Museum in Bucharest
This is located in the former United Holy Temple synagogue, which survived both World War II and Nicolae Ceausescu unscathed.The name has several variants, including Museum of the History of the Romanian Jewish Community. The museum gives broad coverage to the history of the Jews in Romania. Displays include an enormous collection of books written, published, illustrated or translated by Romanian Jews; a serious archive of the history of Romania and collection of paintings of and by Romanian Jews.
The Yesua Tova Synagogue
Located downtown from 1827 and totally renovated in 2007, this is the city’s oldest synagogue. It still serves the local Jewish community.
The Jewish Theatre has a tradition of 120 years in Romania. We will visit the Theatre and tour the inside.
The Jewish Cemetery ‘Filantropia’
The Sephardic Cemetery
