US Survey Reference Number RO/MM/03
International Jewish Cemetery Project - Romania Bo-Bu Alternate Hungarian name: Nagybuny. Located near 47°24' 23°35' (Boiu Mare), 26.6 kilometers S of Baia Mare in Maramures County, approximately 27 km from Tirgu Lapus. It is best to inquire in Boiu Mare how to get to Boiut. The village lies approximately 3 km from Boiu Mare on a road that leads south (or to the right) of the main village center when you enter from the west. Approaching Boiut, the Orthodox cemetery is visible from the first bend entering the village. The Jewish graves are in front of the main cemetery.
We were lead to this town based on a list from the US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, which listed the village of Boia Mare (Nagybuny) as having a Jewish cemetery. After some inquiry there, we discovered that the cemetery was actually located in a neighboring village called Boiut. Boiut is located about three kilometers to the south of Boia Mare. Neither the village nor the dirt road leading to it could be found on our map. The road itself is best suited for four-wheel drives and horse carts. Two stones remain in the cemetery, although our informant, Ioan Moga, told us that at one time the cemetery was much larger and pointed out the original boundaries. We were able to determine that it was once approximately 150 square meters. This was one of two cemeteries in the Lapus region that was located adjacent (within a meter) to a non-Jewish cemetery. Ioan Moga said that his father owned the land that the orthodox cemetery was located on and possibly the land encompassing the Jewish cemetery as well.
Several of the residents of Boia Mare recall four families that lived in Boia Mare proper. Volf: four children returned after the war and later left for Israel in the late 1940s. Markovici: one returned after the war and later moved to Israel. Zalman: one returned after the war and later moved to Israel. Ilie: none returned after the war (this sounds more like a given name than a family name). It seems that the Jewish families who lived in these villages lived in Boiu Mare but were buried in the cemetery in Boiut. There is no evidence that any Jewish families lived in Boiut proper.
- LOCAL: Comunitatea Evreilor (Baia Mare), Str. Somesului Nr. 5, 4800 Baia Mare, Jud. Maramures, Romania. Tel: (40-62) 211-231.
- REGIONAL: Comunitatea Evreilor (Bucuresti), Str. Sf. Vineri 9-11, Bucuresti, Tel: (40-1) 157-441.
- No caretaker. Mr. Ioan Moga, whose father owns the land on which the cemetery is situated, may have more information. He is a resident of Boiut.
We were told that the members of the Jewish community all lived in neighboring Boia Mare, which is a good 3 kilometers from Boiut and used this cemetery. The 150 sq m cemetery location is rural (agricultural) and on flat land with no sign or maker. The cemetery is probably the same area. Although there are no marked boundaries, the ground around the stones is undisturbed. Access is open to all with no wall, fence or gate. Two granite or limestone, flat-shaped, smoothed and Hebrew-inscribed stones are visible in original location. Other stones were removed but location is unknown. Theft of stones is the primary problem encountered between 1945 and the present. Vegetation and water drainage are not a problem. Adjacent property to the cemeteries is orchard and grazing land. Local residents occasionally visit the site. Vegetation is cleared seasonally by local non-Jewish residents. Security and vegetation are slight threats.
John DeMetrick and Christina Crowder, (formerly of Cluj, they have no further information), completed this survey on 22 April 2000 using a list of cemeteries known by the Jewish Community in Baia Mare. They visited the site on 13 April 2000 and interviewed Mr. Ioan Moga. His father owns the property with the Orthodox and Jewish cemeteries on them. He resides in Boiut.