Recently discovered Wall Paintings in the “Groisse Shil” of Czernowitz

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Northern Bukovina, Synagogues

With my friends Sabine and Ingo I am walking through the old Jewish quarter of Chernivtsi (Czernowitz) today. One of the most important cultural monuments there is the “Groisse Shil”, a synagogue dating from the mid 19th Century. The building is now used as a carpenter’s workshop. Although the original purpose of the building is hardly to imagine from inside, fragments of the original ceiling paintings are still visible. I want to show them to my friends. What we discover is incredible: Recently uncovered wall paintings with motifs from the bible.

Czernowitz – Groisse Shil – wall paintings

Czernowitz – Groisse Shil

Czernowitz – Groisse Shil – wall paintings

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It’s all gone, it’s still there

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Jewish Cemeteries, Synagogues

Galicia and Bukovina are covered with partially or totally destroyed Jewish cemeteries. The grave stones were abused as building material during the German occupation and the years of Soviet rule. However, history does not just disappear. During construction works fragments of Jewish grave stones come to light. These stones raise questions – first of all the question of how we want to deal with the past.

Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, April 2013

Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, October 2012

Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, misused as cobblestones, October 2012

Ivano-Frankivsk – fragments of Jewish grave stones, May 2013

Rohatyn – fragments of Jewish grave stones, April 2013

Ivano-Frankivsk – fragments of Jewish grave stones, May 2013

Rohatyn – fragments of Jewish grave stones, April 2013

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Galicia and Bukovina in Black and White (2)

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Jewish Cemeteries, Northern Bukovina, Synagogues

Here it is, the second half of the selection of black and white photos from the trip through Galicia and Bukovina in April and May 2013. The journey finally comes to an end and something new starts.

Ivano-Frankivsk – Jewish cemetery

Kalush – Jewish cemetery

Kuty – Jewish cemetery

Lysynychi – mass grave site

Nadvirna – Jewish cemetery

Pidhaitsi – synagogue

Pidhaitsi – Jewish cemetery

Rohatyn – old Jewish cemetery

Rohatyn – new Jewish cemetery

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Galicia and Bukovina in Black and White (1)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Jewish Cemeteries, Northern Bukovina, Synagogues

Analog photography is not for the impatient. Through digital cameras we are used to check a picture directly. Images on film are different. Two weeks after the trip through Galicia and Bukovina I got the developed black and white films and the scans of the negatives. A first impression and a first selection.

Busk – Jewish cemetery

Brody – Jewish cemetery

Bolekhiv – Jewish cemetery

Bolekhiv – synagogue

Berezhani – Jewish cemetery

Berezhani – synagogue

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Journey through Galicia and Bukovina in May and April 2013 – Some Thoughts

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Jewish Cemeteries, Northern Bukovina, Synagogues

Two weeks I traveled with my friends Petra and Achim through Eastern Galicia and Northern Bukovina. It was a very intense and emotional journey to the heritage of a vanished Jewish world. We visited 27 towns and villages, many spots made a deep impression. With some distance I would like to summarize some experiences and reflect them. What did we see? Who commemorates what and how? And I want to thank all those people who enabled the journey in many different ways and observed it with passion.

Conservation problems at the well maintained cemetery of Busk

Conservation works in Brody

Destructions in Rohatyn

Destructions in Berezhani

Remains of the residence of the Sadagora Rebbe

Well maintained cemetery in Vyzhnytsia

Destructions and renewal works in Kuty

Destructions in Ivano-Frankivsk

Well maintained cemetery in Kalush

Remains of the synagogue in Bolekhiv

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Closing the Circle: From Stryi to Lviv via Drohobych

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Synagogues

May 4. A last day on the streets of Galicia. We visit the old synagogue of Stryi. But above all, we are in the footsteps of Polish-Jewish writer Bruno Schulz in Drohobych. Then we return to Lviv. Our trip is close to its end.

Stryi – Great Synagogue

Drohobych

Drohobych – plaque for Bruno Schulz

Drohobych – Bruno Schulz’ house

Drohobych – Villa Landau

Drohobych – ghetto memorial

Drohobych – Great Synagogue

Drohobych – synagogue

Drohobych – Austro-Hungarian canalization

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From Ivano-Frankivsk to Stryi

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Jewish Cemeteries, Synagogues

May 3. From Ivano-Frankivsk our travel route continues north. Halych, Kalush and Bolekhiv are on our way. No place will leave us untouched.

Ivano-Frankivsk – Temple Synagogue and Jewish hotel

Ivano-Frankivsk – Temple Synagogue

Ivano-Frankivsk – Jewish cemetery

Ivano-Frankivsk – Jewish cemetery

Halych – Karaite cemetery

Kalush – Jewish cemetery

Bolechiv – synagogue

Bolechiv – Jewish cemetery

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From Kolomiya to Ivano-Frankivsk

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Jewish Cemeteries, Synagogues

May 2. We drive from Kolomiya to Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanisławów, Stanislau), the largest city between Chernivtsi (Czernowitz) and Lviv (Lwow, Lemberg). On the way we plan to stop in Nadvirna, Solotvyn and Lysech. It will be an eventful day with changing emotions, pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

Nadvirna – Jewish cemetery

Solotvyn – former Polish church

Solotvyn – former German church

Solotvyn – Holocaust memorial

Solotvyn – former Synagogue

Solotvyn – Jewish cemetery

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The Lost Synagogues of Chernivtsi – A Correction

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Northern Bukovina, Synagogues

April 29. My fellow travelers and I have time to stroll through the streets of Chernivtsi (Czernowitz). As always, it is wonderful to be here. In October last year I wrote about the lost synagogues of the city. Berti Glaubach then made me aware of an error. Now I have a chance to correct my mistake.

Stangerische Shil

The green house – not a synagogue

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From Galicia to Bukovina

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Christian Herrmann under Eastern Galicia, Synagogues

April 26. Chortkiv is our last stop in Galicia, a former center of Hasidism. Then we travel further south, into the Bukovina and towards Chernivtsi (former Czernowitz).