AAlternate names: Borşa [Rom], Borsa and Olozsborsa [Hun], Borsha and בורשא [Yid], Borscha [Ger], Borşa Maramureş, Borsha Maramuresh, Borsha Marmorosh, Kolozsborsa and Борша,. Borsa commune's five villages: Borşa, Borşa-Cătun, Borşa-Crestaia, Ciumăfaia and Giula . 47°39' N, 24°40' E, 50 miles E of Baia Mare (Nagybána), 12 miles ESE of Vişeu de Sus (Felsövissó), at the foot of Mt. Petras. Jewish population: 1,432 (in 1891), 2,486 (in 1930).
Sefer zikaron Borsha, o: ayarat-ahavim be-yarketei ha-karpatim
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), pp. 173-174: "Borsa".
- Pinkas HaKehilot, Romania, Vol. 2 (1980), p. 95: "Borsa"
- Pinkas HaKehilot, Romania, Vol. 2 (1980), p. 253: "Borsa"
- JewishGen Hungary SIG
- JewishGen Romania SIG
Also see town of Cluj.
US Commission report:
Borsa is located at 46°56' 23°40' in Cluj county, Transylvania, 36 km from Cluj. The cemetery is located at Copos Damba, on Hagaoas, Borsa 3433, jud. Cluj, Romania. Present town population is 1,000 - 5,000 with no Jews.
- Town officials: Crisan Aurel, mayor of Borsa, no. 270. phone 233.
- Local officials: 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 parties: "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.. Kispal Arpad, Borsa, priest of the Calvinist Church.
- Caretaker with key: Bochis Nicolae, Borsa, nr. 403 (Hagaoas).
The earliest known Jewish community was 19th century. 1930 Jewish population was probably 57. In May 1944, the Jews were put in the Dej ghetto and deported to Auschwitz between May 28-June 8, 1944. The unlandmarked Orthodox Jewish cemetery was established in 19th century, 3 km. away. The rural (agricultural) isolated hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by crossing private property, it is open to all. A continuous fence a non-locking gate surround the cemetery. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII and now is 24 m X 32 meters. 1 to 20 stones, in original locations with 25%-50% toppled or broken, date from the 20th century. The rough stones or boulders or finely smoothed and inscribed stones have Hebrew inscriptions. No known mass graves, no structures, no pre-burial house in site used only as a Jewish cemetery. The national Jewish community owns the property used for cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural. The cemetery is visited rarely. The cemetery never was vandalized. Regional/national authorities cleared vegetation. Cluj Jewish congregation pays the regular caretaker.
Ovidiu Pecican, Professor historian, E. de Martonne Str. 1, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Tel: 0040-64-405300 completed survey on March 28, 2000 after a visit to the site on March 10. 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 Moshe Carmilly- Weinberger, History of the Jews of Transylvania.
[UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [June 2016]