Tag Archives: Jewish Cemetery

Between Past and Present

Posted on by under Northern Bukovina

The second day in Chernivtsi (Czernowitz): I continue to swing between the past and present of the city, between the remains of the Jewish past and the ongoing protests.

A young lady plays piano, young men are listening
In the morning at Central Square – people commemorate the victims of the last days
In the morning at Central Square – people commemorate the victims of the last days
In the morning at Central Square – people commemorate the victims of the last days
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
“Open microphone” at Central Square
New Holocaust project of the Jewish Museum

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A first trip to Podolia

Posted on by under Jewish Cemeteries, Podolia, Synagogues

Writing is difficult for me today. More than 20 people have been killed in Kiev yesterday, the special police forces continue to besiege Maidan, the center of protests. It is impossible to ignore. Unfortunately I can not do more than express my solidarity with the brave Ukrainians, who are fighting against a corrupt and criminal government, and to report on what I see and experience. That’s why I hold on to my travel plans. Today I was in Sataniv.

My marshrutka to Sataniv
Sataniv – synagogue
Sataniv – synagogue
Sataniv – synagogue
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Sataniv – Jewish cemetery
Ternopil – local Maidan
Ternopil – local Maidan
Ternopil – local Maidan

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At the foot of the Carpathian Mountains

Posted on by under Eastern Galicia, Jewish Cemeteries

Another long day trip through Galicia. My friend Jürgen and I are up early to make our way to the train station and take the next marshrutka to Staryi Sambir – a place 90 km southwest of Lviv (Lemberg, Lwow).

Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir – Jewish cemetery
Staryi Sambir synagogue
Lviv (Lemberg, Lwow), Euromaidan
Lviv (Lemberg, Lwow), Euromaidan

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North of Lviv

Posted on by under Eastern Galicia, Synagogues

A long day trip through Galicia – north of Lviv (Lemberg, Lwow) – to the towns of Sokal, Velyki Mosty and Zhovkva. Bright sunshine, the winter is coming to an end. We pass a down going industrial landscape, traces of the past and the dawn of a new, still undetermined Ukraine.

Sokal synagogue
Sokal – guards in front of an occupied public building
Sokal – older ladies in front of an occupied public building
Sokal – remains of Jewish headstones
Velyki Mosty – synagogue
Velyki Mosty – synagogue
Zhovkva – traces of a mezuzah at the market square
Zhovkva – remains of the Jewish cemetery
Zhovkva – remains of the Jewish cemetery
Zhovkva – remains of the Jewish cemetery
Zhovkva synagogue

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A Gate between the Worlds

Posted on by under Central Europe, Jewish Cemeteries

Should Austria’s capital Vienna be part of a blog that deals with the Jewish heritage of Eastern Europe? Necessarily, because Vienna was not only the gateway from Central Europe to the eastern provinces of the Habsburg Empire, it was also the gateway to the West for many Jewish immigrants in search of a better future. A travel report.

Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Rossau Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Central Cemetery
Plaque in Leopoldstadt
Palais Ephrussi
Palais Ephrussi

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One has to imagine Sisyphus as a happy man

Posted on by under Jewish Cemeteries, Northern Bukovina

Since six years volunteers from all over the world work in the Jewish cemetery of Chernivtsi (Czernowitz). What do they experience and what is the progress in cleaning the cemetery from rampant vegetation?

How to start? Making a plan …
How to start? Making a plan …
Volunteers working
Volunteers working
Volunteers working
Volunteers working
Volunteers working
Mass grave in Storozhynets
Excursion to Kosiv
Excursion to Vyzhnytsia
Excursion to Vyzhnytsia
Excursion to Sadagora
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Two Cemeteries and an Adventure

Posted on by under Jewish Cemeteries, Northern Bukovina

Today, the work camp of SVIT Ukraine has begun at the Jewish cemetery of Chernivtsi (Czernowitz). 14 young people will clean the cemetery of shrubs and vines for the next three weeks. I met the volunteers this morning. In the early afternoon I was searching of traces of the old Jewish cemetery together with Sylvia de Swaan. A little adventure!

volunteers at the cemetery
volunteers at the ceme
volunteers at the ceme
volunteers at the ceme
Czernowitz – old Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz – old Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz – old Jewish cemetery
Czernowitz – old Jewish cemetery

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The Forgotten Cemetery of Czernowitz

Posted on by under Jewish Cemeteries, Northern Bukovina

The Jewish cemetery of Czernowitz (Chernivtsi) is famous – it attracts many people who are looking for the graves of relatives. Even greater is the number of cultural tourists who visit the cemetery. But there was a second – much older – cemetery, of which was said that it had been destroyed in the Soviet period. However, the remains of this cemetery still exist. They need to be examined and protected.

Czernowitz old Jewish cemetery, wall made from grave stones, © Mykola Kushnir
Czernowitz old Jewish cemetery, grave stones, © Mykola Kushnir
Czernowitz old Jewish cemetery, fragment of a grave stone, © Mykola Kushnir
Czernowitz old Jewish cemetery, textile factory, © Mykola Kushnir

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It’s all gone, it’s still there

Posted on by 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, April 2013
Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, April 2013
Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, October 2012
Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, October 2012
Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, misused as cobblestones, October 2012
Lviv – fragments of Jewish grave stones, misused as cobblestones, October 2012
Ivano-Frankivsk – fragments of Jewish grave stones, May 2013
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
Rohatyn – fragments of Jewish grave stones, April 2013
Rohatyn – fragments of Jewish grave stones, April 2013

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