The cemetery is located at Ilisua, no. 226, cod 4579, judet Bistrita, 4713 2405, 215.3 miles NNW of Bucharest and 20 km from Dej. The alternate name is Alsoilosva (Hungarian). Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Mayor Oprea Gheorghe, Uriu
- The Jewish Community of Bistrita, Gr. Balan Str., 71, cod 4400, Bistrita, Romania
- 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.
- Key holder and caretaker: Borbiu Stefan, Ilisua, no. 226, tel. 34
The 1850 Jewish population by census was 61 and in 1930 census was 19. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the ghetto of Dej and on May 28, June 6-8 were deported to Auschwitz.
The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery was established in 18th century with Last known burial was 20th century.
The isolated rural/agricultural flat land has no sign or marker. Reached via private road,
access is open with permission. A fence with a gate that locks surrounds the site. Approximate pre- and post-WWII size is 30 m x 20 m. 20-100 stones are visible, some not in original location. Less than 25% of the stones are toppled or broken. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is good all year. No special sections.
The 18th century granite, flat shaped and smoothed and inscribed, and carved relief decorated tombstones have Hebrew inscriptions. Some have traces of painting on their surfaces. No known mass graves. The national Jewish community owns the property used for an orchard. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop at the never vandalized cemetery maintenance has been re-erecting and cleaning stones and clearing vegetation. Current care is occasional clearing or cleaning by unpaid individuals. No structures.
Cosmina Popa, Tatra Str. no. 4, tel. 064/ 128764, Cluj Napoca, 3400 and Ioana Raiciu, Bd. 21 Decembrie, 13-15, 064/190849, Cluj-Napoca, 3400 visited the site and completed the survey on July 20, 2000 using the following documentation:
- The General Census of the Population of Transylvania- 1850, Ed. Staff, 1996
- Ernest Wager, Historisch- Statistisches- Ortsnamenbuch fur Siebenburgen-, Ed. Bohlau, 1977
- Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. Istoria evreilor din Transilvania (1623-1944), Bucharest, 1994
- Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localităţilor din Transilvania, I-II, Bucharest, 1968.
- Recensamintul general al populatiei din Transilvania-1930 decembrie 29, I-III, Bucharest, 1938
- Singer Zoltan, Volt egyszer egy Des,Bethlen? es kornyeke, I-II, Tel Aviv, 1970.
They interviewed Borbiu Stefan, Ilisua. [January 2003]