BEIUS: Bihor County, Transylvania (BEIUŞ. BELÉNYES , VÁROSBELÉNYES, BINSCH ) | Romania

ALTERNATE NAMES: BEIUŞ [ROM], BELÉNYES [HUN], VÁROSBELÉNYES, BINSCH [GER]. 46°40' N, 22°21' E, 34 miles SE of Oradea (Nagy-Várad), in județul Bihor, S Transylvania. Jewish population: 279 (in 1880), 563 (in 1920).

BEIUS I: Bihor County, Transylvania

The Neolog cemetery is located at Beius, Str. Romana, no. 36, 3600, judet Bihor, Romania at 4640 2221, 238.0 miles NW of Bucharest. Alternate name: Belenyes (Hungarian). Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews

Mayor Odobasian Silviu, Town Hall of Beius, 1 Decembrie 1818 Str., 3600, judet Bihor, Romania, tel. 0040-59-320359
The Jewish Community of Oradea, Mihai Viteazu Str. no. 4, 3700 Oradea, Romania, tel. 0040-59-134843 (132587)

The Federation of The Jewish Communities of Romania, Sf. Vineri Str. no. 9-11, sect. 3, Bucharest, Romania
Interested: "Dr. Moshe Carmilly" Institute for Hebrew and Jewish History, Universitatii Str. no. 7-9, room 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: Durnea Ioan, Str. Romana, no. 36

The 1880 Jewish population by census was 279, by 1900 census was 530, and in 1930 was 483. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the Oradea ghetto and on May 23, 25, 28-30, and June 1-5, 27 were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Neolog The cemetery was established at end of the 19th century. Buried there is Cohan: Smuel Salosinski. Last known burial was 1994.

The isolated urban hill has no sign or marker. Reached by a public road, access is open with permission. No wall, fence, or gate or with a gate that locks. Approximate pre-WWII size is unknown. Approximate post-WWII size is 20000 m2. 100-500 stones are visible. 100-500 are in original location. 20-100 stones are not in original location. Less than 25% of the stones are toppled or broken. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a seasonal problem preventing access. Water drainage is good all year.

The cemetery has special sections. Cohanim. The oldest known gravestone dates from 1893. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, limestone, and sandstone, iron, concrete and local stone flat shaped, smoothed and inscribed, and carved relief-decorated, double tombstones, and sculpted monuments have Hebrew, Hungarian and Romanian inscriptions. Some tombstones have metallic elements and metal fences around graves. No known mass graves.

The local Jewish community owns the property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop at the never vandalized cemetery maintenance has been cleaning stones and clearing vegetation by Jewish individuals abroad in approximately 1998. Current care is regular unpaid caretaker. No structures.

Ursutiu Claudia, Pietroasa Str. no. 21, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, tel: 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey on 8 July 2000 using the following documentation:

Recensamantul din 1880. Transilvania coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1997.
Recensamantul din 1900. Transilvania Traian Rotariu, Cluj, 1999
Recensamintul general al popula]iei din 29 decembrie 1930, (The General Census of the population from December 29, 1930), vol. II, Bucuresti 1938
Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
Recensamantul general al populatiei Romaniei din 29 decembrie 1930, vol.
II (The General Census of the Population of Romania from 29 December 1930,
vol. II), Bucuresti, 1938
Recensamintul general al populatiei din Romania din 7 ianuarie 1992 (The General Census of the Population of Romania from January 7, 1992), vol. I, Bucuresti, 1994
Tereza Mozes, Evreii din Oradea (The Jews from Oradea), Bucuresti, Ed. Hasefer, 1997
Izvoare si marturii referitoare la evreii din Romania (Sources and Testimonies on the Jews in Romania), vol. III/1-2, coord. L. Gyemant, L. Benjamin, Bucuresti, Ed. Hasefer, 1999
Zsido Lexicon, ed. by Ujvari Peter, Budapest, 1929
Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localitatilor din Transilvania (The Historical Dictionary of Localities in Transylvania), vol. I-II, Bucuresti, 1967
Otto Mitelstrass, Historisch-Landeskundlicher Atlas von Siebenburgen, Ortsnamenbuch, Heidelberg, 1992
Microsoft Auto Route Express 1999

Claudia and Adrian Ursutiu interviewed Popa Livia, 08. 07. 2000, Beius. [January 2003]

BEIUS II

See BEUIS I for town information.

The Orthodox cemetery is in Beius, at Str. Plopilor, 3600, judet Bihor, Romania.

Key holder: None

The 1880 Jewish population by census was 279, by 1900 census was 530 and in 1930 was 483. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the Oradea ghetto and on May 23, 25, 28-30, and June 1-5, 27 were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery was established in middle of the 19th century. Last known burial was 1903.

The urban flat land, separate but near other cemeteries, has no sign or marker. Reached by a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence, or gate. Approximate pre-WWII size is unknown. Approximate post-WWII size is 28 x 32 m. 20-100 stones are visible. 20-100 stones are in original location. 1-20 stones are not in original location. Less than 25% of the stones are toppled or broken. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a constant problem damaging stones. Water drainage is good all year.

No special sections. The oldest known gravestone dates from 1852. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and local stone flat shaped, smoothed and inscribed, and carved relief-decorated memorial markers have Hebrew, German, and Hungarian inscriptions. Some have metal fences around graves. No known mass graves.

The local Jewish community owns the property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are in village residential setting with houses, gardens, orchards, and pastures. Rarely,
private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was not vandalized in the last ten years or occasionally in the last ten years. [sic] No maintenance. No care now. No structures. Security is a serious threat: (no fence, no gate) Vegetation is a serious threat. (The cemetery is almost covered by vegetation.) Incompatible nearby development is a moderate threat.

Ursutiu Claudia, Pietroasa Str. no. 21, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, tel: 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey on 8 July 2000 using the following documentation:

Recensamantul din 1880. Transilvania coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1997.
Recensamantul din 1900. Transilvania Traian Rotariu, Cluj, 1999
Recensamintul general al popula]iei din 29 decembrie 1930, (The General Census of the population from December 29, 1930), vol. II, Bucuresti 1938
Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
Recensamantul general al populatiei Romaniei din 29 decembrie 1930, vol.
II (The General Census of the Population of Romania from 29 December 1930,
vol. II), Bucuresti, 1938
Recensamintul general al populatiei din Romania din 7 ianuarie 1992 (The General Census of the Population of Romania from January 7, 1992), vol. I, Bucuresti, 1994
Tereza Mozes, Evreii din Oradea (The Jews from Oradea), Bucuresti, Ed. Hasefer, 1997
Izvoare si marturii referitoare la evreii din Romania (Sources and Testimonies on the Jews in Romania), vol. III/1-2, coord. L. Gyemant, L. Benjamin, Bucuresti, Ed. Hasefer, 1999
Zsido Lexicon, ed. by Ujvari Peter, Budapest, 1929
Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localitatilor din Transilvania (The Historical Dictionary of Localities in Transylvania), vol. I-II, Bucuresti, 1967
Otto Mitelstrass, Historisch-Landeskundlicher Atlas von Siebenburgen, Ortsnamenbuch, Heidelberg, 1992
Microsoft Auto Route Express 1999

Claudia and Adrian Ursutiu conducted no interviews. [January 2003]