Bobâlna, Bobîlna. 45°52' N 23°08' E, 175.1 miles NW of Bucureşti .Bobâlna (Olpret) until 1957; Hungarian: Alparét; German: Krautfeld) is a commune composed of eleven villages: Antăş, Băbdiu, Blidăreşti, Bobâlna, Cremenea, Maia, Oşorhel, Pruni, Răzbuneni, Suarăş and Vâlcelele.
Also see OSORHEL
US Commission survey
Alternate name: Olpret (German); Alparet, Babolna (Hungarian). Bobalna is located in Cluj county, Transylvania at 53°35' 47°28', 22 km from Dej. The cemetery is located at eastern side of the village Bobalna, 4654, jud. Cluj. Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Town: mayor Chira Ilie, Bobalna, No. 100, 4654, jud. Cluj, Romania.
- Local: The Jewish Community of Cluj, Tipografiei Str. 25, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Tel. 0040-64-196600. Regional officials: The Federation of the Jewish Communities of Romania, Str. Sf. Vineri, No. 9-11, Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania.
- Interested: "Dr. Moshe Carmilly" Institute for Hebrew and Jewish History, Str. Universitatii No. 7-9, cam. 61, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Director: Ladislau Gyemant This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Caretaker with key: Popovici Vasile, Bobalna No. 234, 4654, jud. Cluj, Romania.
The earliest known Jewish community was 19th century. 1930 Jewish population was 7 families, 38 people. In May 28-June 8, 1944, the Jews were placed in the Dej ghetto and deported to Auschwitz. The Jewish cemetery was established in 19th century. A rabbi was buried here with last known Jewish burial about 1940. The Orthodox Jewish community used this unlandmarked cemetery 1 km. away. The isolated rural (agricultural) hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by crossing private property, it is open to all. A continuous fence and a locking gate surround the cemetery. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII and now is 60x25 meters. Fewer than 20 stones, with 25% to 50% not toppled or broken, date from the 19th century. The sandstone finely smoothed and inscribed stones have Hebrew inscriptions. Some have portraits on stones. No memorial monuments, known mass graves, structures, or pre-burial house exist. The national Jewish community owns the property used for cemetery only. Properties adjacent to it are agricultural and residential. Private visitors visit the cemetery occasionally or rarely. The cemetery has been vandalized never. At the cemetery, there has been no maintenance. The caretaker is not paid.
Ovidiu Pecican, Professor, historian, E. de Martonne Str. 1, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Tel: 0040-64-405300 completed survey on March 26, 2000 after a visit on March 11. Documentation: Otto Mittelstrass, Historisch-Landeskundlicher Atlas von Siebenburgen. Ortsnamenbuch, Heidelberg, 1992. The General Census of the Population of Romania ?December 29,1930, I-III, Bucharest, 1938 Ernst Wagner, Historisch-statistisches Ortsnamenbuch fur Siebenburgen, Moshe Carmilly- Weinberger, History of the Jews of Transylvania.