Finding funding for Jewish heritage projects is sometimes the most difficult part of a project. We have already highlighted some new crowd-funding campaigns for projects in Poland and Ukraine.
Here’s another one — a new Indiegogo campaign just launched to aid the restoration and preservation of the centuries-old Jewish cemetery in Alba Iulia, Romania.
Established in the 18th century and still used by the town’s tiny Jewish community, the cemetery is believed to be the oldest Jewish cemetery in Transylvania and one of the oldest in Romania. Extending over about 21,500 square meters, it includes 2,038 graves and 1,960 stones. It was used both by the initial Sephardic community but also by the Ashkenazi community, which over time became the majority in the town.
We have posted about the work that has already been carried out in the cemetery, by the municipality of Alba Iulia in coordination with the Jewish community, and the goals for the future.
Click here to access the Indiegogo site for the campaign
4 comments on “Romania: Crowd-funding campaign for Jewish cemetery in Alba Iulia”
Looking for the graves of my grand parents in Alba lulia
I read the descriptions and I’m not sure what they want. This cemetery is fairly well-tended and maintained, and it gets a fair number of visitors, especially from the Deyzh rabbinical line (descendants of R. Paneth). It will not cost over $100,000 to document all the gravestones (heck; I’ll do it for $50,000, and probably do a better job). As it is, many of the stones are gone. As you can see from my pictures (see the attached link), the area around the grave of R. Yehezkel Paneth has few stones, even though a chart of the cemetery that I found in the community offices show that it should be pretty crowded.
There are few people who have more of an interest than me in the preservation of this cemetery. My great-grandfather and great-great grandfather are buried there, as are other relatives. I would love to be involved in this project. I also have connections to the Paneth family and other families who would have such an interest. But I have been to the cemetery, and the descriptions in the crowdfunding page do not really correspond to the reality I saw there as recently as May. I need to be convinced that the Alba Iulia/Karlsburg municipality is not trying to sell us snake oil before I get involved.
As I read it, the budget they present is not for documentation, but for the physical restoration and conservation of 700 gravestones plus the chapel plus various tombs, plus the fence and gate, as well as laying paths etc. I suggest you get in touch with Tudor Drambarean for further details
An inspiration for all those involved in protecting, commemorating, and preserving Jewish cemeteries in central and eastern Europe. Nice also to see crowd-funding as one of the financial resources. We wish them best of luck for a deserving project, and one that serves as a role model for our own, Rohatyn Jewish Heritage.