Alternate names: Aleşd [Rom], Élesd [Hun]. 47°04' N, 22°25' E in Crisana region, 254.0 miles NW of Bucharest and 39 km from Oradea.. Jewish population: 94 (in 1877).
The cemetery is located in Alesd, 3575, judet Bihor, Romania. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.
- Mayor Zeno Tipter, Town Hall of Alesd, 3575, judet Bihor, Romania
- 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: Let Miklos, Castanilor Str., no. 1.
The 1880 Jewish population by census was 94, by 1900 census was 227, and in 1930 was 372 Jewish inhabitants. In May 1944, approximately fifty Jews from Alesd 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 and Neolog cemetery was established in second half of 19th century. Noteworthy individuals buried in the cemetery: Cohanim: Terebesy Samu (Smuel Ben Shlomo Hacohen 1864-1942); Kohn Jozsef (Slomo Eliezer Hacohen 1870-1916); and Lustig Jeno (Iaacov Ben Chaim 1913-1961). Last known burial was 1979.
The isolated urban hill has no sign or marker. Reached by a public road, access is open with permission. A fence with a gate that locks surrounds the site. Approximate pre- and post-WWII size is 110 x 60 m. 100-500 stones are visible. 100-500 stones are in original location. 20-100 stones are not in original location. 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 for men, rabbis, Cohanim, and women who died in childbirth. The oldest known gravestone dates from second half of the 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and concrete, and local stone flat shaped, smoothed and inscribed, and carved relief-decorated, double tombstones, and sculpted monuments have Hebrew 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 agricultural. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized occasionally in the last ten years. Maintenance has been re-erection of stones, patching broken stones, and clearing vegetation by local non-Jewish residents in 1984. Current care is regular caretaker paid by the Jewish community of Oradea. No structures.
Ursutiu Claudia, Pietroasa Str. no. 21, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, tel: 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey on 6 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
- Zsido Lexicon, ed. by Ujvari Peter, Budapest, 1929
Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian - Tereza Mozes, Evreii din Oradea (The Jews from Oradea), Bucuresti, Ed. Hasefer, 1997
- 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 Let Miklos, 06. 07. 2000, Alesd. [January 2003]