Logistics

Name of synagogue (if it has one)

SINAGOGA CATEDRALĂ - BAAL ȘEM TOV

(BAAL SHEM TOV WOODEN CATHEDRAL SYNAGOGUE) (Historical monument)

Street address:

 7 DIMITRIE ERNICI ST.

City and postcode: PIATRA NEAMȚ

Website of Jewish community or synagogue (if they have one) -

Website of Federation of Jewish Communities from Romania

www.jewishfed.ro

Contact person for synagogue with telephone and email-

Contact at Jewish community: Nadler Emanuel

Street address of Jewish community:

 7 Petru Rareș St., Piatra Neamț

Telephone number: 0233/223.815 and email

comevrnt@yahoo.com

Street address of Jewish cemetery?

(1) 2 ORHEI ST. (old)

(2)  4 P. MOVILĂ ST. (new)

Condition of the cemetery? - Good

Synagogue facts—you will not find all the answers, but it’s important to ask

When was it built? - 1766

Year(s) when it was remodeled or expanded – N/A

Name of architect(s) – N/A

Other synagogues that this architect built – N/A

Is it known who designed the brass candelabras etc?- N/A

Is it known who was the artist who painted on the walls?- N/A

Wooden Aron Kodesh with decorations in bronze and silver made by Saraga Itchok ben Moischein 1835.

How would you describe the condition? – Very good

Jewish statistics

How many Jews lived in this city before the Holocaust?

In 1930, 7,595 Jews lived there, froma total population of 31,539.

What was its peak year of Jewish population? 8,489 in 1907 (representing approximately half the town’s population)

How many synagogues were in the city then?

In 1941, there were 19 synagogues in Piatra Neamț.

How many now? - 2.

Is the other used as synagogue? Yes.

If not, what are they used for? -

If possible, give their addresses.

Templul Mare Leipziger / Beth Hamidrash (Great

Temple of the merchants from Leipzig) 7 Dimitrie Ernici (same court), built in 1839, rebuilt in 1898 and 1904.

Holocaust related

What was the fate of the Jews of this city during the Holocaust?

In 1941, approximately 600 Jews from neighboring villages and towns were forcedly moved to Piatra Neamț. Some 600 men aged 15 to 66 were forced to perform hard labor throughout the county; another 500 were sent off in labor detachments.

How many were murdered? – The vast majority

How many emigrated?

In 1947, approximately 8,000 Jews remained in Piatra Neamț, but the number of Jewish inhabitants gradually decreased as a consequence of emigration.

How many live there today?

In 2003, just 153 Jews were living there.

What are the social services for Jews in the city, if any? – N/A

Sources:

Congresul Mondial Evreesc. Secțiunea din România,

Populația Evreească in cifre.

Memoria cimitirelor evreiești

Cronica comunităților israelite din județul Neamțu cuprinzând hrisoave, documente, inscripții, fotografii,vol. 2 (Piatra Neamț, 1928)

Pincu Pascal, Obştea evreilor din Piatra-Neamț

 (Piatra Neamț, 2005).

Arh. Aristide Streja, Arh. Lucian Schwartz, Sinagogi din România  (Bucharest, 1996): 103 -106

www.jewishfed.ro

http://www.jewish-romania.ro/monumente.php

http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Piatra_Neamt

The Romanian Synagogue Documentation Project

Underwritten by the David Berg Foundation

Grant recipient: Centropa, Vienna, Edward Serotta, Director,

Organizing Partner: The Center for Hebrew Studies and the Goldstein Goren

Center for Israel Studies, University of Bucharest, Felicia Waldman, Coordinator

Researcher: Anca Tudorancea, Center for the Study of the History of Romanian Jews

Photography: Daniel Gruenfeld, Oliver Beck Assistant

Web coordinator: Dragos Parasca