Alternate names: Hîrlău [Rom], Hârlau, Harloy, האַרלוי [Yid], Harló [Hun]. Located at 47°26' N, 26°54' E, 24 miles SSE of Botoşani, 38 miles WNW of Iaşi (Yash). Jewish population: 2,718 (1899). Yizkors: Der khoyv fun zikorn; mayn moldevish shtetl Harlow
References:
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 499: "Harlau".
- Pinkas HaKehilot, Romania, Vol. 1 (1969), p. 111: "Harlau (Hirlau)"
- JewishGen Romanian SIG
CEMETERY:
Gamliel Greenberg, Str. Nicolae Gheouga 42, Hirlau, Jud Iasi, Romania may have information. The Yiddish cemetery list is in the possession of Jack Bloom and Rick Bercuvitz. [undergoing translation: January 2001] The caretaker with a key may be contacted through Gamliel Greenberg. For the Jewish community history see Encyclopedia Judaica.
The active cemetery location is an urban hillside with a sign in English and possibly Romanian. The cemetery, reached by turning directly off a public road, is open with permission. A continuous masonry wall and a locking gate surround the site. Inscriptions on the tombstones are in Romanian and Hebrew. The local Jewish community owns the cemetery. Adjacent properties are commercial or industrial and residential. The cemetery is visited occasionally. Past maintenance includes re-erection of stones, patching broken stones, cleaning stones, clearing vegetation, and fixing wall and gate. Prior to 1981, Bernard Schwartz of United Harlauer Association, a New York City landsmanschaft cared for the cemetery.
Jack H Bloom, 23 Sherman Street, Fairfield, Connecticut. Tel: 203/255-0600 ext 111. Home tel: 203/374-5600. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. completed the survey on 25 Aug 1997. He visited the site during the summer of 1997. The names of those interred need translation. [8/30/97]
HÎRLAU (I): (Iasi judet) US Commission No. _
The cemetery is located at str. Stejar no. 24, Iasi judet, Moldavia region at 47°27' 27°03', 8 km from Tîrgul Frumos. Present town population is 25,000-100,000 with 0-100 Jews.
- Local Authority: Mayor Costache Gheorghe, str. Musatinilor no. 5, Hîrlau, Iasi judet. Phone: 720517
- Religious Authority: The Jewish Community of Iasi., str. Elena Doamna 15. Phone: 113711; 114414
- 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 with key: Grimberg Gambel, str. N.Iorga no. 42, Hîrlau, Iasi judet. Phone: 032/72113
The 1774 Census registered 18 Jewish inhabitants, 1821 Census registered 105 Jewish families. The Census from 1899 registered 1497 Jewish inhabitants. The 1930 Census registered 2004 Jewish inhabitants. Prominent residents include Betalel Baruch, Betalel Baruch, and Mendel Rabinovici-scholar rabbis. This Jewish cemetery was established in the end of the 18th century. Buried noteworthy individuals in the cemetery include Betalel Baruch (dead ~1785), Betalel Baruch, and Haim Itzac (died 1861)-scholar rabbis. The last known Jewish burial in cemetery was in 1917. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery is 0.5 km from the congregation that uses it.
The isolated urban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open with permission. Reached by turning directly off a public road, a gate that locks surrounds. The pre- and post-WWII size is 180 m X 80 m. 600 gravestones are visible in the cemetery with none in original location. More than 75% are toppled or broken. Vegetation overgrowth and water drainage in the cemetery are not problems. Tombstones date from the 19th through the 20th centuries. The limestone, sandstone, and other materials are rough stones or boulders, flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, and flat stones with carved relief decoration. Some have portraits on the stones. Inscriptions are in Hebrew.
The national Jewish community owns the cemetery property now used for Jewish cemetery and agriculture. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Occasionally, private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) stop.
The never vandalized cemetery has no maintenance, but the regular caretaker is paid by the Jewish Congregation of Hîrlau. Within the cemetery is a house. Security, weather erosion, pollution, and vegetation 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 21, 2000 using the following documentation:
- Leonida Colescu, Analiza rezultatelor recensamîntului general al populatiei Romaniei de la 1899, cu o prefată de Sabin Manuila, Bucuresti, Institutul de statistica, 1944.
- I.M. Dinescu, Fiii neamului de la 1859 la 1915. Statistica sociala pe întelesul tuturora, Iasi, Institutul de Arte Grafice N.V.Stefaniu, 1920.
- 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.
- George I. Lahovari, Marele dictionar geografic al Romaniei, 5 vol., Bucuresti, Edit.Socec, 1899.
- E. Schwarzfeld, Din istoria evreilor: împopularea, reîmpopularea si întemeierea tîrgurilor si tîrgusoarelor în Moldova, Bucuresti, 1894.
- Sources and testimonies concerning the Jews in Romania, II/1-2, Bucharest, 1988-1990.
- N. Sutu, Notiti statistice asupra Moldaviei, Iasi, 1852.
He visited July 21, 2000 and interviewed Grimberg Gambel, str. N.Iorga no. 42, Hîrlau, Iasi judet. Phone: 032/721137. [June 2002]
HÎRLAU (II): US Commission No. _
The cemetery is located at str. Eternitatea no. 20, Hîrlau, Iasi judet, Moldavia region at 27°03' 47°27', 8 km from Tîrgul Frumos. See Hîrlau I for town information.
Caretaker with key: Grimberg Gambel, str. N.Iorga no. 42, Hîrlau, Iasi judet. Phone: 032/721137.
This Jewish cemetery was established in 1915. The last known Jewish burials in the cemetery were 1998 (Haim Feiga) and Sept. 1999 (Ruhla Iosup from Frumusica).
Frumusica (Botosani judet); Cotnari (Iasi judet) used the unlandmarked Neolog cemetery, 0.5 km from the congregation that used it. The urban flat land, separate, but near other cemeteries, has a sign in Romanian. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open with permission. A continuous masonry wall and a gate that locks surround.
The pre- and post-WWII size is 100 m X 60 m. 1,100 gravestones are visible in the cemetery with none in original location. More than 75% are toppled or broken. Vegetation overgrowth and water drainage in the cemetery are not problems. The cemetery has special sections for men, Cohanim, and children. Tombstones date from 1917. Tombstones date from the 20th century. Marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and wood are rough stones or boulders, flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, and flat stones with carved relief decoration., sculpted tombstones, and multistone monuments. Some have portraits on the stones and metal fences around graves. Inscriptions are in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Romanian.
The national Jewish community owns the cemetery property. Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial and residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Frequently, organized individual tours, private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish), local residents visit.
The never vandalized cemetery maintenance includes re-erection of stones and cleaning and patching broken stones arranged by Jewish individuals and groups abroad in 1998. Care is annual clearing of vegetation by the unpaid regular caretaker. The preburial house has a tahara (table), a catafalque, and wall inscriptions. Weather erosion, pollution, and vegetation 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 21, 2000 using the following documentation. He visited July 21, 2000 and interviewed Grimberg Gambel, str. N.Iorga no. 42, Hîrlau, Iasi judet. Phone: 032/721137. [June 2002]
- Leonida Colescu, Analiza rezultatelor recensamîntului general al populatiei Romaniei de la 1899, cu o prefată de Sabin Manuila, Bucuresti, Institutul de statistica, 1944.
- I.M. Dinescu, Fiii neamului de la 1859 la 1915. Statistica sociala pe întelesul tuturora, Iasi, Institutul de Arte Grafice N.V.Stefaniu, 1920.
- 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.
- George I. Lahovari, Marele dictionar geografic al Romaniei, 5 vol., Bucuresti, Edit.Socec, 1899.
- E. Schwarzfeld, Din istoria evreilor: împopularea, reîmpopularea si întemeierea tîrgurilor si tîrgusoarelor în Moldova, Bucuresti, 1894.
- Sources and testimonies concerning the Jews in Romania, II/1-2, Bucharest, 1988-1990.
- N. Sutu, Notiti statistice asupra Moldaviei, Iasi, 1852.
Photos by Charles Burns [March 2016]