International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies

BUCECEA: Botosani judet

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Alternate names: Bucea, Buccea, Bucecca. Located at 47°46' N, 26°26' E in NE Romania, 11 miles W of Botoşani, 13 miles NE of Suceava. 1900 Jewish population: 1,281. JOWBR: Bucecea. Jewish community probably dates from 1825. 1831 Jewish Census: 98; 1899 Jewish census: 112; and 1930 Jewish Census 848.

  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Like Shells on a Shore. Projekt 36, Bern, Switzerland, 2010. To order, contact Mr. Geissbuhler. history and photographs. [December 2010]
  • Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 208: "Bucecea".
  • Pinkas HaKehilot, Romania, Vol. 1 (1969), p. 39: "Bucecea"
  • JewishGen Romanian SIG

Photos [January 2016]

Jewish cemetery located at Soseaua Principala no. 1 in an overgrown rectangular stand of trees is about 1 mile east of the town center along the main road to Botosani and easily visible from a large windmill overlooking the town at the top of hill about 1 mile further east. A small cement fence surrounds the cemetery with an unlocked gate directly down a steep hill from the road. The last known Jewish burial was 1945. Three rabbis are buried in a separate locked building inside the inactive cemetery.Cattle pastures surround the cemetery. Photos. Photos and history. Jewish community that used the cemetery probably was Orthodox, Hassidic, and Sephardic. [July 2010]

47°46' N, 26°26' E, In NE Romania, 11 miles W of Botoşani, 13 miles NE of Suceava. 1900 Jewish population: 1,281. The town was founded in the 1820s and was heavily Hasidic. In 1937, five synagogues and prayer houses existed.

JOWBR: Bucecea

Also see BOTOSANI

Alternate name: Bucecea/Bucheche. Located at 47°46' 26°26' in Botosani judet with no current Jewish population. The burials are not indexed. Older stones with Hebrew lettering only are well preserved. From an adjacent hill, one can look down into the cemetery site that is in a beautiful natural setting of rolling hills and a valley. The cemetery is easily accessed. The caretaker, Nicolai Amoraritsu, who lives in the village, has the key. The earliest Jewish community in the town possibly dates from 1825. Three rabbis are buried in a separate locked building inside the inactive cemetery. The Jewish community probably was Orthodox, Hassidic, and Sephardic. The isolated urban/suburban flat land in a lovely valley is separate with a sign in Romanian. Reached by turning directly off a public road, the cemetery is surrounded by a high continuous masonry wall and a gate with a lock. The current size is one to two acres. The cemetery is divided into older and newer areas with the separate building for the rabbis. About 100 gravestones are less than 25% toppled or broken with in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Romanian inscriptions. Properties adjacent are agricultural. Weather erosion and pollution are a slight threat. This survey was completed by Naomi Paltiel Lowi, 4858 Cote D. Neiges #807C, Montreal, Canada H3V1G8, tel 514-735-5729 on 28 Aug 1997. She visited the site on 22 Jul 1997. Documentation may exist in the Botosani Jewish Community office. She interviewed the caretaker and Mrs. Muraru Strongaru, a resident of Buceca who directed her to the cemetery. [1999]

US Commission Report No. _?

The cemetery is located at Soseaua Principala no. 1, Bucecea, Botosani judet, Moldavia region at 47°40' 26°28', 2 km from Botosani. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.

  • Local Authority: Mayor Hanganu Vasile, Bucecea, Botosani judet. Phone: 550112.
  • Religious Authority: The Jewish Community of Botosani, Soseaua Nationala no. 220. Phone: 514659
  • Regional Authority: The Federation of the Jewish Communities of Romania, Sf. Vineri str., no. 9-11, sector 3, Bucharest, Romania.
  • Interested: "A.D. Xenopol" Institute of History, Lascar Catargi str., no. 15, 6400- Iasi (Iasi judet), Romania. Tel. 032/212614; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Director: Alexandru Zub.
  • Caretaker: Amoraritei Neculai, soseaua Principala no. 73, Bucecea, Botosani judet. Phone: 031/550176
  • Keyholder: Amoraritei Neculai, soseaua Principala no. 73, Bucecea, Botosani judet. Phone: 031/550176

The 1831 Census registered 98 Jewish inhabitants and that from 1899 registered 112 Jewish inhabitants. The 1930 Census registered 848 Jewish inhabitants. The Jewish Community was founded in 1828. This unlandmarked Conservative Jewish century was established in the 19th century. The last known Jewish burial was in 1945. The site is 2 km from the congregation that used it.

The isolated flat suburban location has no sign or marker. Reached by crossing private property, access is open with permission. A continuous masonry wall and gate that locks surround the site. The pre- and post-WWII size is 200 m X 50 m. 20 to 100 gravestones are visible in the cemetery with none in original location. 50% - 75% of the tombstones are broken or toppled. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem, preventing access. Water drainage is good all year.

Tombstones date from the 19th century to the 20th century. Marble, granite, limestone, and sandstone tombstones and memorial markers are rough stones or boulders, flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, and flat stones with carved relief decoration. Some have metal fences around graves. Inscriptions are in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Romanian. The national Jewish community owns the cemetery property used for agricultural purposes. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Occasionally, private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) stop.

The never vandalized cemetery has had no maintenance but there is a regular unpaid caretaker. No structures. Security and weather erosion are moderate threats. Pollution, vegetation, and vandalism are slight threats.

Lucian Nastasa, Clinicilor str., no. 19, Cluj, Romania, tel. 064/190107. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. completed the survey on July 26, 2000 using the following documentation:

  • E.Schwarzfeld, Din istoria evreilor: împopularea, reîmpopularea si întemeierea tîrgurilor si tîrgusoarelor în Moldova, Bucuresti, 1894.
  • N.Sutu, Notiti statistice asupra Moldaviei, Iasi, 1852.
  • George I. Lahovari, Marele dictionar geografic al Romaniei, 5 vol., Bucuresti, Edit.Socec, 1899.
  • I.M.Dinescu, Fiii neamului de la 1859 la 1915. Statistica sociala pe întelesul tuturora, Iasi, Institutul de Arte Grafice N.V.Stefaniu, 1920.
  • Leonida Colescu, Analiza rezultatelor recensamîntului general al populatiei Romaniei de la 1899, cu o prefată de Sabin Manuila, Bucuresti, Institutul de statistica, 1944.
  • Pinkas Hakehillot, Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities Romania, I-II, Jerusalem, 1980.
  • D.Ivanescu, Populatia evreiască din orasele si tîrgurile Moldovei între 1774-1832 , în "Studia et acta historiae iudaeorum Romaniae", II, Bucuresti, Edit.Hasefer, 1997, p. 59-65.
  • I.Kara, Inscriptii funerare ebraice din judetul Botosani, în "Memoria Antiquitatis", II, 1970, p. 523-531.
  • Marius Mircu, Pogromurile din Bucovina si Dorohoi, Bucuresti, Edit.Glob, 1945.
  • He visited July 18, 2000 and interviewed Amoraritei Neculai, soseaua Principala no. 73, Bucecea, Botosani judet. Phone: 031/550176 [June 2002]

 

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Parent Category: EASTERN EUROPE