| MOINESTI: (Bacău judet) |
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Alternate names: Moineşti [Rom], Moynescht [Yid], Hebrew: מוינשט , Moineshti. 46°28' N, 26°29' E, 21 miles WSW of Bacău. 1900 Jewish population: 2,398. JOWBR: Jewish Cemetery.
US Commission No. ROCE-0062 Map Alternate name: Lucacesti. The cemetery is located at str. Eternitatii no. 2, Moinesti, Bacău judet, Moldavia region, 46°26' 26°32', 38 km from Bacău. Present town population is 25,000-100,000 with under 10 Jews.
The 1831 Census registered 49 Jewish families. The 1899 Census registered 457 Jewish inhabitants. The 1930 Census registered 1733 Jewish inhabitants. 18. In World War I, many local Jews were killed. Prominent residents include Dov ben Iehuda, Avram Arie Rosen-scholar rabbi and Dr. Smuel Grinberg (1879-1959), poet and writer. This Jewish cemetery was established in the 19th century. Noteworthy individuals buried there include Dov ben Iehuda (died 1732) and Ghidalea Westler (died 1903)-scholar rabbi. The last known Jewish burial in cemetery was in 1992 (Avram Samoil). The Conservative cemetery is unlandmarked. The isolated urban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is entirely closed. A continuous masonry wall and no gate or a gate that locks surround. The pre- and post-WWII size is 150 m X 100 m. 500 - 5,000 gravestones are visible with none in original location. More than 75% are toppled or broken. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem, preventing access. Water drainage is good all year. No special sections. Gravestones date from the beginning of the 19th century through the 20th century. The marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, slate, and other material gravestones are flat shaped stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration, double tombstones, and sculpted tombstones. Inscriptions are in Hebrew, German, and Romanian. The national Jewish community owns the property now used for Jewish cemetery purposes only. Adjacent properties are residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Occasionally, private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) and local residents stop. The never vandalized cemetery has no maintenance, but the regular caretaker, who is paid (occasionally.) The preburial house has a tahara (table), a catafalque, and wall inscriptions. Vegetation is a moderate threat. Weather erosion and pollution are slight threats. Lucian Nastasa, Clinicilor str., no. 19, Cluj, Romania, tel. 064/190107. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text24840 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it completed the survey on July 23, 2000 using the following documentation:
He visited on July 16, 2000 and interviewed Nastase Constantin, str. Eternitatii no. 12, Moinesti, Bacău judet. Phone: 363412; and Kohlenberg Raphael, Moinesti; Phone: 361089. [June 2002] Rafael Kohlenberg, president of the community, (Str. V. Alecsandri, Bl. A2-2, Apt. 7, 5478 Moinesti, Romania, Tel. 034/36-10-89 (home address). has a list of readable gravestones in the cemetery. Cemetery has two sections, the older of which is not recorded in Kohlenberg's list. Older cemetery is overgrown. Some stones date go back to 1740. Fixed surnames were not acquired until the 1950s. Source: "Researching Jewish Romania On Site" by Paul Pascal. Current Jewish population: 0-100. Mr. Kohlenberg speaks French and Romanian. He made a handwritten list of tombstones that partially indexes the unlandmarked, inactive cemetery. One copy of the list exists. Cemetery hours are by arrangement. The earliest Jewish community dates from the early 1700s with tombstones dating from 1740. Jews comprised more than half of the population. Tristan Bara (writer) lived there. The town was a major early hotbed of Zionism. Jews were deported to Bacău during W.W.II. The last known Orthodox burial was 1995. The isolated urban site, at the crown of a hill, but in the center of town has a sign. The cemetery is reached by turning directly off a public road. Access is open with permission. A part-time, illiterate caretaker lives nearby and has the key. A broken masonry wall and a locking gate surround the cemetery. The current size is 400x300 meters. Men and women are buried in alternating rows. The 1,000 to 5,000 18th and nineteenth century tombstones date from 1740. 75% of the surviving stones are toppled or broken. The sandstone rough stones, flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration, double tombstones, sculpted monuments, multi-stone monuments, horizontally set stones, some with Sephardic inscriptions, flat-low in-ground plaques, obelisks, or mausoleums have Hebrew and Romanian inscriptions. Some tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces, iron decorations or lettering, bronze decorations or lettering, portraits on stones, and/or metal fences around graves. The local Jewish community owns the site used for Jewish cemetery and a caretaker garden. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. The cemetery is visited rarely. Current care: occasional clearing or cleaning by authorities and the regular caretaker. The caretaker is allowed to use the land to graze his cow as payment. Within the limits of the cemetery is a chapel. Weather erosion is a serious threat. Vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem, disturbing and damaging graves and stones. One of the world's very prominent Jewish communities is dying out, leaving this large cemetery without guardian or catalog. Mr. Kohlenberg is in ill-health and cannot reach all the grave sites. On 27 July 1997,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, 3514 Woodlawn Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98103, tel. 206/632-3881 completed this survey. He visited the site on that date when he interviewed Mr. Kohlenberg. He used a partial list of names compiled by Kohlenberg as documentation. I'm the daughter of Raphael Kohlenberg, who is president of Jewish Community in Moinesti. He is very ill in this moment so, my sister and I plus 2 sons of former president, Enghelberg family, created LEOLAM. We have started a fundraising campaign and need a little more money for the most important project, preserving the cemetery and Jewish culture in Moinesti, the oldest city in Romania where Jewish pople have gone to Israel). Please find a form or e-mail me. Please find some pictures, taken 2 weeks ago, of the neglected condition of the cemetery. The synagogue needs repair also. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Paris, France [April 2012] Added July 2012
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 08 August 2012 22:17 |