US Commission No. ROCE-0196
SAVENI: (judet Botosani)
The cemetery is located at Str. Stefan Luchian no. 32, Saveni, judet Botosani, Moldavia region, Romania at 4757 2652, 245.6 miles N of Bucharest and 38 km from Botosani. Present town population is 25,000-100,000 with no Jews.
- Mayor Roscaneanu Dumitru, Str. 1 Decembrie no. 1, Savenii. Phone: 031/541330
- The Jewish Community of Botosani, Soseaua Nationalã no. 220, Botosani, Phone: 514659
- The Federation of The Jewish Communities of Romania, Sfintu Vineri Street no. 9-11, sect. 3, Bucharest, Romania
- "A.D. Xenopol" Institute of History, Lascar Catargi Street, no. 15, 6400- Iasi Judet Iasi, Moldavia , 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 and key holder: Baltoi Dumitru, Str. Stefan Luchian no. 40, Saveni, judet Botosani
The Jewish population by census was 934 in 1899 and was 1,764 in 1930. On 1July 1940, the Romanian army massacred many Jews. Between June and July 1944, many Jewish families were deported to Oltenia. The cemetery was established in 19th century. Last known burial was Marcus Moisa in 1993. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery is 2 km from the congregation that used it.
The isolated urban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by a public road, access is open with permission. A masonry wall and fence with a gate that locks surround the site. Approximate pre- and post-WWII size is 200 x 400 m. 500-5000 stones are visible. 500-5,000 are in original location. 20-100 stones are not in original location. More than 75% of the stones are toppled or broken. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a seasonal problem preventing access. Water drainage is good all year.
No special sections. The oldest known gravestone dates from 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and slate memorial markers have Hebrew and Romanian inscriptions. Some have traces of painting on their surfaces, iron decorations or letting, bronze decorations or lettering, and other metallic elements and portraits on stones, sculpted monuments, and multi-stone monuments. Some have iron decoration or lettering, carved relief-decoration, double tombstones, and sculpted monuments. The site has memorial to Jewish soldiers.
The local Jewish community owns the property used for an orchard. Adjacent properties are in village residential setting with houses, gardens, orchards, and pastures. Occasionally,
private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors and local residents stop at the never vandalized cemetery. Maintenance has been re-erection of stones, patching broken stones, clearing vegetation, and fixing gate.
by local non-Jewish residents and Jews abroad. Current care is regular unpaid caretaker. No structures. No threats.
Lucian Nastasă, Clinicilor Street, no. 19, Cluj, Romania, tel. 064/190107. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. visited the site and completed the survey on 19 January 2001.
- E. Schwarzfeld, Din istoria evreilor: împopularea, reîmpopularea si
întemeierea tîrgurilor si tîrgusoarelor în Moldova, Bucuresti, 1894. - N.Sutu, Notiti statistice asupra Moldaviei, Iasi, 1852.
- George I.Lahovari, Marele dictionar geografic al României, 5 vol.,
Bucuresti, Edit.Socec, 1899. - I.M.Dinescu, Fiii neamului de la 1859 la 1915. Statistica sociala pe
întelesul tuturora, Iasi, Institutul de Arte Grafice N.V.Stefaniu, 1920. - Leonida Colescu, Analiza rezultatelor recensamîntului general al
populatiei României de la 1899, cu o prefata de Sabin Manuila, Bucuresti, Institutul de statistica, 1944. - Pinkas Hakehillot, Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities Romania, I-II,
Ierusalim, 1980. - D. Ivanescu , Populatia evreiasca din orasele si tîrgurile Moldovei între
1774-1832, în "Studia et acta historiae iudaeorum romaniae", II, Bucuresti, Edit.Hasefer, 1997, p.59-65 - Alex Mihai Stoenescu, Armata, maresalul si evreii, Bucuresti, 1998.
Lucian Nastasă interviewed Baltoi Dumitru, Str. Stefan Luchian no. 40, Saveni, judet Botosani on 11 January 2001. [January 2003]
[UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [April 2016]