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
Friday, May 9, 2008
Jewish Iasi
Iasi – cultural breeding ground
The beginnings of higher education in Iasi date from the reign of Vasile Lupu (1634-1653). In 1640, Lupu founded an academy at the Three Hierarchs Monastery.
In the 18th century, a Royal Academy was established in one of the buildings attached to the Metropolitan Cathedral. The institution was closed down by the Ottomans after the Greek Revolution of 1821, but Gheorghe Asachi reopened it under the name of The Vasilian Gymnasium seven years later. In 1835, it was renamed The Mihailean Academy and had three sections: Philosophy, Law and Theology, as well as two special courses, Polytechnic Sciences and Economy.
In 1860, Alexander Ioan Cuza founded the University of Iasi. Today, this university is comprised of 26 colleges and eight research institutes of the Romanian Academy.
Old University Palace (Vechea Universitate)
Address: Blvd. Independentei 35
Commissioned by Ioan Cantacuzino between 1760 and 1765, the Old University Palace was badly damaged during a fire in 1795. Later renovated and converted into a royal residence, it remained in royal use until 1806. The stone arch in front of the palace dates from this period. On it, you can see the Moldavian coat of arms and a Cyrillic inscription spelling out the words the door of hope. In 1860, the building became home to the newly established University of Iasi and to the first public art collection in the country. Today, it houses the Medicine and Pharmacy College.
University on Copou Hill (Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza)
Address: Blvd. Carol I nr. 11
The main university building was built between 1893 and 1897 on the site of the Great Theatre which had burned down. The Hall of the University, known as The Hall of the Lost Footsteps, served as a parliamentary debating chamber between 1917 and 1918. In 1967, the painter Sabin Balasa created a series of strongly romanticized frescoes for the arcades.
Central University Library (Biblioteca Centrala Universitara Mihai Eminescu)
Address: Str. Pacurari 4
Located at the base of Copou Hill, this triangular building with Doric columns and cupola was built between 1930 and 1935 to serve as the headquarters of King Ferdinand’s Cultural Foundation. The building was decorated with Carrara marble and Venetian mosaics. By 1945, the Foundation library had become one of the biggest in the country with more than 300,000 volumes. Today, the library is the largest in Moldavia, with a great number of manuscripts and old books from the 15th to the 19th centuries.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Saint Parascheva Iasi
Saint Parascheva was born in the village Epivat in Eastern Tracia, at the beginning of the XI-th century, in a family who believed in God. Then, by the age of 15, she dedicated herself to the monachal life. Currently, she is recognized mostly by the Orthodox Churches from Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Russia and Serbia.
Saint Parascheva’s relics were brought to Iasi in 1641, during the reign of the ruler Vasile Lupu, and they were exposed in the Church of the Three Hierarchs (Trei Ierarhi Church). People also call her Saint Friday.
Saint Parascheva is considered the Protector of Moldavia and Bucovina, being the most popular of all the Saints whose relics are in Romania. Christians believe in the miraculous powers of the relics.
Saint Parascheva’s Dedication Day – 13 October
Saint Parascheva’s Dedication Day and at the same time, the Feast of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iasi, has become, these last 15 years, an important Christian manifestation for the region of Moldavia. On this occasion arrive in Iasi, in pilgrimage, about 1 million pilgrims, most of them waiting for hours in a line which covers 2-3 kilometers in order to reach the relics of the Saint and pray.
Generally, on the 12th of October the holly relics are brought out of the church and they are exposed on the esplanade of the Metropolitan Cathedral. Then, on the 13th of October, the feast day, a procession is being organised on the streets nearby.
During the last years, besides the relics of Saint Parascheva, there have also been brought here the relics of other important Saints such as: Saint Ioan Gura de Aur, Saint Nectarie of Eghina and those of Saint Andrew. After the procession, the reliquary is exposed again in the courtyard of the Metropolitan Cathedral in order to allow the pilgrims to pray.
Also, after the Feast’s religious service, the City Hall of Iasi organizes a lunch for the pilgrims, where they serve traditional meals.
The Memorial House "Vasile Alecsandri" in Mircesti
It was built in 1867 by the poet Vasile Alecsandri who donated it after his death to the Romanian Academy.
The permanent exhibition reconstitutes, chronologically, the writer’s life and moments referring to his literary activity.
In the museum’s court it can be seen a mausoleum built by the Romanian Academy. Here is the poet’s grave and also the relics of his parents and wife.
Cucuteni IASI
Mentioned for the first time in 1662, Cucuteni village acquired international renown at the end of the 19th century when, on Cetatuia Hill, they discovered the first traces of the most wonderful Neolithic culture of Europe, the Cucuteni culture. At the beginning of the second half of the last century, a gold treasure and a tumular princely grave belonging to the Gaeto-Dacian civilization were also discovered.
Ruginoasa Palace
Summertime residence of Prince Al.I.Cuza, the palace was built at the beginning of the 19th century by the treasurer Sandulache Sturdza. The architect of the luxurious building was the Viennese Johan Freywald. The Neoclassical aspect of the edifice will be changed in 1847 when chancellor Costache Sturdza charged architect Johan Brandel with the restoration of the house in Ruginoasa “following the Gothic style architecture”.
Destroyed during World War II, the palace will be restored beginning with 1978.
It opened as a memorial museum in 1982. The exhibits reconstitute the atmosphere of the days spent by Cuza family in Ruginoasa Palace.
The monastery and the castle in Micaluseni
Situated close to Siret’s marsh, on the left side of the European road E583, the monastery owes its name to High Steward Miclaus who received these lands around 1410-1416.
The church was built between 1821-1823 by the great chancellor Dimitre Sturza (1756-1846) and his wife Elenco. A Classical monumental building, the church consists of four vaulted rooms: the porch, the pronave, the nave and the altar.
Miclauseni Castle, historical monument belonging to the Gothic art, was built between 1880-1904 by George A. Sturza and his wife Maria (born Ghica). The exterior decorations bring forward details from the Sturza’s blazon and also the emblem of George A. Sturza. The castle was the possessor of a remarkable library of about 60,000 volumes; among them many first editions or extremely rare volumes.
Hadambu Monastery
Situated in Mogosesti, at 30 km south-west from Iasi, it was founded by Iani Hadimbul in 1959 on a place donated to him by sovereign Gheorghe Ghica. After a long period of being closed, the monastery was reopened in 1990.
Aroneanu Monastery
It was built in 1594 by Aron Voda, in Aroneanu village. It is said that before this monastery, there was another one, named “from the Greeks” or ”the Greek monastery in Iasi’s lands”, built by sovereign Alexandru Lapsuneanu during his second reign (1563-1568).
Initially, the monastery was surrounded by rock walls, had corner towers, cells and other annexes which crumbled. In 1907 it became the parochial church of the Aroneanu village. Its exterior is special owing to its decorative elements made of bricks and enameled disks.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Al. I. Cuza University Picture
Al. I. Cuza University Iasi Picture
how many hours haven't I spent here just waiting for time to pass by with my friends thinking about ...nothing.
If you are in the area you can go at the students cafeteria (behind the university), cheap beer.
Low prices for young people with only 2 euros you eat for the entire day.
History of iasi
History of Iasi
Iasi - historical reference points
- Archaeological diggings certify the existence of human settlements on the today’s territory of Iasi since Paleolithic.
- 1408 – the first documentary attestation of the city
- 1565 – during the second reign of Alexandru Lapusneanu, Iasi became the capital of Moldavia, being at that time an important economical, political and cultural centre.
- 5 January 1859 –colonel Al. I. Cuza becomes the Prince of Moldavia
- After the union of the Romanian Principalities on 24 January 1859, Iasi functioned as the capital of Moldavia until the administrative union in 1862.
- 1860 – Al. I. Cuza founds at Iasi the first university in Romania
- 11 November 1916 – during World War I, the Royal Court, the Parliament and the Romanian Government withdrew from Bucharest to Iasi.
Iasi - general information
- The capital of Iasi county
- Situated in North-Eastern Romania, at 47°10’ Northern latitude and 27°35’ Eastern longitude
- Population: 305.978 inhabitants
- Total surface: 9391,36 hectares
- Climate: temperate continental
- Height: 40 m (Bahlui’s meadow) – 407 m (Paun Hill)
- The second university centre in Romania
By the way this year we are celebrating 600 years from the first documentary attestation in 1408. Also this is an electoral year so I don't really know why the city is so "nice & so clean, clean" . I thik our mayor wants to gain our votes in the D day.
Still, I don't really care why they embellish but I'm happy they do it.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
About Iasi
Iasi (pronunciation in Romanian: /jashi/) or Jassy, is a city and municipality in north-eastern Romania. The city was the capital of Moldavia from the 16th century until 1861 and of Romania (Romanian Kingdom) between 1916-1918 during World War I.
The second largest Romanian city,[1] after Bucharest, Iaşi is the economic, cultural and academic centre of the Romanian region of Moldavia. The city has the oldest Romanian university and accommodates an annual count of over in 5 public and 3 private universities. It is home to more than 50 churches and hosts 5 cultural centres: British, French, German, Latin American & Caribbean and Hellenic. Cultural life gravitates around the National Theater (the oldest in Romania), the Opera House, the Iasi State Philarmonic, the Tătăraşi Atheneum, a famous Botanical Garden (the oldest and largest in Romania), the Central University Library (the oldest in Romania), an array of museums and memorial houses, an independent theater and several student organizations.
from wikipedia
