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Jewish Museum, Bucharest
The Jewish Museum in Bucharest is located in the former Templul Unirea Sfântă (The Holy Unity Temple) synagogue, which survived both World War II and Nicolae Ceauşescu dictatorship unscathed. The name has several variants, including the Museum of the History of the Romanian Jewish Community. In Romanian it is variously called Muzeul de Istorie al Comunitatilor Evreieşti din România, Muzeul de Istorie a Comunitaţii Evreieşti Bucureşti, etc.
The museum offers broad coverage of the history of the Romanian Jews. Displays include a vast collection of books written, published, illustrated, and/or translated by local Jews; a wealth of archived materials on the history of the Romanian Jewry; a collection of paintings of and by Romanian Jews that, while relatively small, includes the works of the calibre worthy of a major art museum (there are many works of the same artists exhibited at the National Museum of Art); Jewish theatre memorabilia including items from the State Jewish Theatre; a medium-sized display devoted to Zionism; a small but pointed display of anti-Semitic posters and tracts; two rooms off to a side, one dealing with the Holocaust era from a historical point of view, and the other - a Holocaust memorial; discussion of both favourable and unfavourable treatment of the Jews by Romanian rulers in various historic periods. In short, the museum is dedicated to looking seriously into the history of a particular ethnic group within a society. In contrast to its Hungarian equivalent in Budapest, this is not a museum that sees the exodus of the majority of the country's surviving Jews to Israel as a culmination. Instead, it focuses more on how it's been for those who have stayed and continued contributing to the Romanian culture; identifying the role of Jews in the past, present and the future of Romania. The Museum also contains a large collection of Jewish ritual objects originated in Romania, collected by Rabbi Moses Rosen (1912–1994), the late Chief Rabbi of the Romanian Jewry.
The museum security is relatively high, in no small part because of a December 2000 incident where two anti-Semitic men vandalized the museum and demanded to see the "human soap".
The museum offers broad coverage of the history of the Romanian Jews. Displays include a vast collection of books written, published, illustrated, and/or translated by local Jews; a wealth of archived materials on the history of the Romanian Jewry; a collection of paintings of and by Romanian Jews that, while relatively small, includes the works of the calibre worthy of a major art museum (there are many works of the same artists exhibited at the National Museum of Art); Jewish theatre memorabilia including items from the State Jewish Theatre; a medium-sized display devoted to Zionism; a small but pointed display of anti-Semitic posters and tracts; two rooms off to a side, one dealing with the Holocaust era from a historical point of view, and the other - a Holocaust memorial; discussion of both favourable and unfavourable treatment of the Jews by Romanian rulers in various historic periods. In short, the museum is dedicated to looking seriously into the history of a particular ethnic group within a society. In contrast to its Hungarian equivalent in Budapest, this is not a museum that sees the exodus of the majority of the country's surviving Jews to Israel as a culmination. Instead, it focuses more on how it's been for those who have stayed and continued contributing to the Romanian culture; identifying the role of Jews in the past, present and the future of Romania. The Museum also contains a large collection of Jewish ritual objects originated in Romania, collected by Rabbi Moses Rosen (1912–1994), the late Chief Rabbi of the Romanian Jewry.
The museum security is relatively high, in no small part because of a December 2000 incident where two anti-Semitic men vandalized the museum and demanded to see the "human soap".
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Bucharest. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
Jewish Museum on Map
Sight Name: Jewish Museum
Sight Location: Bucharest, Romania (See walking tours in Bucharest)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Sight Location: Bucharest, Romania (See walking tours in Bucharest)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Walking Tours in Bucharest, Romania
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Creating your own self-guided walk in Bucharest is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Old Town Walking Tour
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.9 Km or 1.2 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.9 Km or 1.2 Miles
Bucharest Introduction Walking Tour
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The name București has an unverified origin. Tradition links it to the guy named Bucur, who (according to various legends) was either a prince, outlaw, fisherman, shepherd or a hunter. The Romanian word “bucurie” means joy (happiness), which in turn explains one of Bucharest's... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.7 Km or 2.3 Miles
The name București has an unverified origin. Tradition links it to the guy named Bucur, who (according to various legends) was either a prince, outlaw, fisherman, shepherd or a hunter. The Romanian word “bucurie” means joy (happiness), which in turn explains one of Bucharest's... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.7 Km or 2.3 Miles
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