US Commission No. ROCE-0006
Ighiu is located at 46°09' 23°31' in Alba county, Transylvania region on the Ighiu River, near the provincial capitol, Alba Iulia, on the Mures River, the main river of the area. This part of Transylvania was given to Romania in 1919 and previously in Hungary. Many people in this province still speak Hungarian. I visited the Jewish cemetery in 1985 and again in June, 1997. I found the cemetery to have become greatly disturbed since 1985. At that earlier date, the cemetery was protected by the authorities. I had found intact the grave monument of my paternal grandmother and two young uncles who predeceased her. There were about fifty to one hundred other graves. On the latter visit, I found the cemetery to be the victim of neglect and/or vandalism. Many stones were broken and my grandmother's monument toppled off its base, but unbroken. I tried to secure the assistance of the community leader of the Jews in Alba Iulia, Mr. Abraham Geza. Later, I was told that Mr. Geza and others had re erected the stone. Ighiu is a small community with a population of some 5,000, but with no known current Jewish population. The earliest known Jewish community in the town dates from the 18th or 19th century with the last known Orthodox Jewish burial about 1920. The Jewish cemetery is at the top of a hill, near several other cemeteries of various denomination, has no sign, but can be found by asking the help of local residents. The graves were marked with both granite, and softer brownstone. No care or maintenance is given to it.This survey was completed by Norman L. Weiss on 8 Nov 1997: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.