Jewish Iasi

In the 19th century, Iasi was one of the great Eastern European centres of Jewish learning, famous for its scholarly rabbis, intellectuals and skilled craftsmen, as well as for its Jewish schools, hospitals, publications and other organizations.

In 1855, the city was the home of the first-ever Yiddish-language newspaper, Korot Haitim, and was the birthplace of the Israeli national anthem. The world’s first professional Yiddish-language theatre was opened here in 1876 by Avram Goldfaden, who later founded New York’s first Jewish theatre. From 1949 to 1964, Iasi was also home to a second company of the State Jewish Theatre.

Jewish merchants from Poland settled here in the 15th century and their numbers swelled with further waves of Russian-Jewish and Galician-Jewish immigration into Moldavia. By 1930, there were over 30,000 Jews and some 127 synagogues. Today, only two synagogues remain open.

During the early years of World War II, Iasi was the scene of a pogrom by the Iron Guard, a nationalist Fascist organization. The majority of the city’s Jewish population was killed or deported. A monument to the victims of the 1941 pogrom was erected outside the Great Synagogue.

The Great Synagogue (Sinagoga Mare)
Address: Str. Sinagogilor 7
The Great Synagogue of Iasi is the oldest surviving Jewish prayer house in Romania and the second oldest synagogue in Europe. It was founded in 1670, reportedly at the initiative of Rabbi Nathan (Nata) ben Moses Hannover, religious leader of Iasi’s Jewish community in the 1660s and author of Yeven. Mezullah. Located on Synagogues Street (so dubbed because of the many synagogues once found here) in the old Jewish neighborhood of Targu Cucului, the synagogue was built in an eclectic style with strong late baroque influences. Since its foundation in the second half of the 17th century, the Great Synagogue has undergone a number of major renovations.

Although called “the great," the size of the synagogue is actually very modest. The floor is located below street level in keeping with a widespread tradition found in many Central and Eastern European synagogues. Jewish religious tradition requires that synagogues should be the highest buildings in their neighborhoods but because Jews were not permitted to build high structures for their prayer houses, lowering the floor of synagogues represented an ingenious compromise between the two demands by creating an interior that is higher than the exterior elevation of the building. It also serves as a reminder of Psalm 130 ("de profundis"): "Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, o Lord".

Today, the Great Synagogue continues to serve the Jewish community of Iasi. It has been recognized as a historical monument.

The Iasi Jewish Cemetery
Address: Sos. Pacurari (bus and trolleybus connections from Piata Eminescu)
Open daily
Admission charge
Many of the victims of the 1941 pogroms were buried in the Jewish Cemetery, located outside the city on Dealul Munteni (Mountain Hill). Over 100,000 graves, some dating from the late 1800s, stretch across the hillside; burial records date from 1915 to the present day and are kept in the community centre. The second, smaller synagogue is also located here.

Jewish Community of Iasi (Comunitatea Evreiasca din Iasi)
Address: Str. Elena Doamna 15
Tel: (232) 313.711