Alternate names: Tîrgu Frumos [Rom], Târgul Frumos, Târgu-Frumos and טרגו פרומוס [Hebr/Yid]. 47°12' N, 27°00' E, 28 miles W of Iaşi, 20 miles NNE of Roman. 1900 Jewish population: 2,123. 2011 population: 9,38. . Eleven villages administered by the town until 2004 were split off to form Balş, Costeşti and Ion Neculce Communes.
- Pinkas HaKehilot, Romania, Vol. 1 (1969), p. 130: "Targu-Frumos"
- JewishGen Romania SIG
US Commission No. ROCE-0317
See Iasi for death train victims.
The cemetery is located at str. Nucariei 8, Iasi judet, Moldavia region at 27°10' 47°17', 41 km from Iasi. Present town population is 25,000-100,000 with no Jews.
- Local Authority: Dumitrache Dan, Tîrgu Frumos, Iasi judet
- Religious Authority: The Jewish Community of Iasi, str. Elena Doamna no. 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: Musat Vasile, str. Nucariei no. 4, Tîrgu Frumos, Iasi judet. Phone: 032/711570
The Census from 1820 registered 99 Jewish families and 1831 Census registered 60 Jewish families. The 1899 Census registered 832 Jewish inhabitants. The 1930 Census registered 1578 Jewish inhabitants. In 1941, the Jews were deported to Caracal (Romania.) Prominent residents include Avraham Iesaia ben Iaakov and Salom Taubes (1825-1888)-scholar rabbis. This Jewish cemetery was established in the 19th century. Noteworthy individuals buried here include 21. Tvi ben Iehuda (died 1847) and Salom Taubes (died 1888)-scholar rabbis. The last known Jewish burial in cemetery was July 18, 1977 (Ilie Saim). The unlandmarked Conservative cemetery is 2 km from the congregation that used it. Strunga (Iasi judet) also used this cemetery.
The isolated urban flat land has a sign or plaque in Hebrew that mentions the Jewish Community. 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 500-m X 800 m. 500 - 5,000 gravestones are visible in the cemetery. 20 to 100 are not in original location. More than 75% are toppled or broken. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem, preventing access. Water drainage is good all year.
Gravestones date from 1818 through the 20th century. Marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and other material are flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, and flat stones with carved relief decoration. Some have portraits on the stones and/or metal fences around graves. Inscriptions are in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Romanian. The cemetery has a monument to pogrom victims. The cemetery contains a marked mass grave with 570 corpses.
The national Jewish community owns the cemetery property now is used for Jewish cemetery purposes only. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Frequently, organized Jewish group tours or pilgrimage groups, organized individual tours, and private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) visit.
The never vandalized cemetery has no maintenance from the regular unpaid caretaker, who has the use of the agricultural land. No structures. Security and weather erosion are slight threats. Vegetation is a moderate threat.
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 22, 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.
- N. Sutu, Notiti statistice asupra Moldaviei, Iasi, 1852.
- Gh.Ungureanu, Catagrafia locuitorilor Moldovei din anul 1820, în "Revista de statistica", no. 7/1967.
- He visited on July 21, 2000 and interviewed Musat Vasile, str. Nucariei no. 4, Tîrgu Frumos, Iasi judet. Phone: 032/711570 [June 2002]
[UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [April 2016]
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