Visiting The Synagogue

There are plenty of churches and museums I've visited so far during my travels, but never a Jewish synagogue or a Jewish museum. Compared to other religions, Jewish are not so many in Europe and their number is less and less in some countries. Jewish synagogues are not open to the public and getting into one is not so easy. You can't go in during the service (I suppose, I wouldn't anyway) and even if you're welcome, you can't take photos as it would not be polite.

In December when I went to visit the museum of nature and science in Targu Mures, which was closed by the way, I saw a synagogue that was also closed, but had a sign saying visits can be planned in advance and you can visit between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm from Monday to Friday. So today I went to visit the synagogue.

The building is situated in the vicinity of the city center. It is an impressive building with those typical round windows on the front, even though it would require some maintenance work.

The Synagogue Status Quo Ante from Târgu Mureș (also known as the Great temple, Big temple or the Great synagogue), located at No. 24, Aurel Filimon street (previously known as No. 21 Școlii street, entrance at No. 23), is the cultural centre for the small Jewish community in the city of Târgu Mureș proper, as well as the larger Transilvanian region. It was originally constructed during the Austro-Hungarian period, in 1899–1900, in an eclectic architectural style.
In 2004, the synagogue Status Quo Ante from Târgu Mureș was added to the list of historic monuments for Mureș County. source

At the office we learned that the entrance is free, but a 10 lei (€2) donation would be welcome, which will be used to maintain the Jewish cemetery. We were happy to pay as you get a guide and learn a lot not only about the synagogue but about the past of the Jewish population of the city.

This is the side entrance, where we entered the synagogue and I suppose this is the entrance mostly used when services are held.

Our guide, sharing information about the history of the synagogue.

One interesting detail that I'd like to mention is that before we started the tour of the synagogue and the museum, I asked if photographing is allowed and our guide said "It's a must! We're very pleased." I've been in quite a few major cities in Europe and small ones too, but have never had part of such a warm welcoming. They were very pleased that there are visitors and that people are interested in learning more about their past and present.

The style shows inspiration from roman, gothic and baroque architectural styles and elements, and follows patterns found in Catholic churches built during the same period.
source

Opposite the entrance is a square apse – the Torah Ark – where the precious Torah scrolls are enclosed, in a semi-circular region supported by two columns, and topped by a bulb dome. Attached to the gate of the Ark, a plaque recalls the memory of the victims of the shoah. The inscription (in Hebrew) reads:

"Our city counts 5,943 martyrs. The stones of the walls themselves, and the whole of the Jewish people mourn the extermination of our parents and our dear loved ones who were asphyxiated and burned at Auschwitz in the year 5704 (1944). source

Unfortunately I don't know Hebrew and the alphabet is also very different from what we use, so translating anything would be very difficult, so I have to quote what Wikipedia says.

This is the menorah which according to the Bible was used in the tabernacle set up by Moses in the wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.

These benches looked very interesting as usually these are straight, not round shaped. I suppose these are the original ones. Each seat has a number, you can see the metal plate on the back of each seat.

Marble plates on the walls of the synagogue.

This is the list with the names of those contributing to the building of the statue dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust. These donations came from local people as well as those from Israel, Canada, United States and Brazil.

Another marble plate on the wall of the museum, written in Hebrew. Unfortunately I didn't ask what it is and now I can't tell you either as it's impossible to translate it.

This is a commemorative plate in memory of the teachers and students that deported to Auschwitz in 1944. I don't even want to count how many names are there, but there are too many.

During the visit we've learnt that there are two synagogue in Targu Mures. This is one and the other is not very far from this place. The other has been nationalized by the communists. The Jewish community managed to get the synagogue back after the 1989 revolution, which went into renovation after a good few years, then it was leased to a company, now another company is leasing the place.

Unfortunately the total number of Jewish people in Targu Mures is 82 we were told, so two synagogues are too many for such a small community. However, we have to be grateful these two synagogues are still standing as many have been demolished, people deported to Auschwitz and God knows how many were actually able to come home. Their home got nationalized and their lived destroyed. Next I'm going to show you the museum and share a lot of information about the Jewish people living in Targu Mures.

This is the former Jewish school that was nationalized by the communists after the second world war. It functioned as state school after the nationalization, then after the communism ended, it was claimed by the rightful owners or the descendants. I'm not sure what's going on with it but it doesn't look good.