Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
JEWISH BUCHAREST
Once a thriving part of Bucharest, the city's Jewish community occupied many of the old streets that surrounded
today's Piaţa Unirii. While much of the area was razed in the 1980s to make way for Ceauşescu's redevelopment
plans, here there are scattered reminders of this once-vital group.
The first stop would be the well-arranged
Jewish History Museum
Offline map
Google map
(Muzeul de
Istorie al Comunitaţilor Evreieşti din România;
Click here
; 021-311 0870; Str Mămulari 3; admission free;
9am-2pm Mon-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri & Sun)
, housed in the beautiful Tailor's synagogue. Exhibits highlight Jew-
ish contributions to Romania, while the Holocaust room is dedicated to the around 200,000 Romanian Jews who
were deported to camps in Transdniestr and Ukraine, and the well over 100,000 Jews from Transylvania who died
at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The synagogue dates from 1850 and is one of three pre-WWII synagogues to survive.
Bring your passport.
The
Choral Temple
Offline map
Google map
( 021-312 2196; Str Sf Vineri 9-11; closed for renov-
ation)
, built in 1857, is the city's main working synagogue and is visually stunning inside. A memorial to the vic-
tims of the Holocaust, erected in 1991, fronts the temple. It was closed in 2012 for renovation and at the time of
writing it was not clear when it would reopen.
South of the Piaţa Unirii area, the old
Sephardic Jewish Cemetery
(Cimitirul Evreiesc de rit Sefard; Calea
Şerban Vodă; noon-6pm)
lies opposite
Bellu Cemetery
(metro Eroii Revoluţiei). Two rows of graves dated
21 to 23 January 1941 mark the Iron Guard's pogrom against the Jewish community, during which at least 170
Jews were murdered. From the metro, walk 100m towards the modern City Hall; it's to the right.
North of Piaţa Unirii is the country's formal
memorial
Offline map
Google map
(Str Ion Brezoianu;
24hr)
to Romanian Jews and Roma who died in the Holocaust. The monument was unveiled in 2009 and was
widely seen as the government's first step in acknowledging Romania's part in the destruction of European Jewry.
PIAŢA VICTORIEI & AROUND
Piaţa Victoriei is an important traffic hub and square that marks the northern edge of the
central city. The metro station is a good access point for walks north along Şos Kiseleff or
south into the centre.
George Enescu Museum
(Muzeul George Enescu;
Click here
;
021-318 1450;
www.georgeenescu.ro
;
Calea
Victoriei 141; adult/child 6/1.50 lei; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun)
A few blocks south of Piaţa
Victoriei is this museum dedicated to national composer George Enescu (1881-1955). The
real lure is the chance to peek inside the lovely building housing the museum: the turn-of-
the- century art-nouveau Cantacuzino Palace.
MUSEUM
