International Jewish Cemetery Project - Romania Bo-Bu Cemetery is in the northern side of the village at the exit toward Arad at 4619 2207, 232.8 miles NW of Bucharest and 82 km from Arad. The cemetery is big, surrounded by a wall that is not in its best condition and is partly overgrown. From the road, it looks like a sculpture camp. Nearby is a plant for animal elevation. [sic] Alternate/former name is Korosbokeny (Hungarian.) Present total town population is 3.800 with no Jews.
- Mayor Giura Dumitru, Buteni, no. 169, code 28
- The Jewish Community of Arad, 10, Tribunul Dobra Str., 2900 Arad, Romania.
Tel. +40-57-281310 - The Federation of The Jewish Communities of Romania, Sf. Vineri Str. no. 9-11, sect. 3, Bucharest, Romania
- "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 and key holder: Briciu Nicolae, Buteni, no. 677, phone: 455 (by the operator)
Jewish population by census was 125 in 1880 and 152 in 1910. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery dates from beginning of the 19th century. No other towns and villages use this isolated rural/agricultural flat land with no sign or marker. The cemetery is reached by a. turning directly off a public road. Access is open to all, surrounded by a stone wall with two closed gates.
Approximate pre- and post-WWII size was 1 hectare (10000 quadrat m.) No stones are visible. 100-500 stones are in the cemetery. 1-20 stones are not in original location. Less than 25% of surviving stones are toppled or broken. Location of missing stones is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage at the cemetery is a constant problem. The oldest known gravestone dates from the 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, and limestone tombstones are flat shaped and smoothed and inscribed. Some are concrete. Inscriptions on tombstones are in Hebrew and Hungarian.
The national Jewish community owns the cemetery property now used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Compared to 1939, cemetery boundaries are the same. Rarely, private visitors stop at the never-vandalized site. Clearing vegetation by a regular unpaid caretaker is the care. No structures.
Assistant Professor Alexandru Pecican, Almasului Str., Bl. R1, apt. 14, Cluj-Napoca, 3400 visited the site and completed the survey on September 15, 2000 using the following documentation:
- The Transylvanian Census from 1880, Bucharest, Staff Publishing House, 1997
- The Transylvanian Census from 1910, Bucharest, Staff Publishing House, 1999
- The General Census of the Population of Romania - December 29, 1930, I-III, Bucharest, 1938
- Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. Istoria evreilor din Transilvania (1623-1944), Bucharest, 1994 (in Romanian)
- Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localitatilor din Transilvania, I-II, Bucharest, 1968
On August 29, 2000, Pecican interviewed Briciu Nicolae in Buteni. [January 2003]