Two Communities, One Town: Orthodox and Neolog Brașov

For seventy years, from 1877 to 1949, Brașov had two Jewish communities, each with its own synagogue, rabbi, registers and cemetery. The Neolog synagogue is still in use. The Orthodox synagogue on Strada Castelului stands abandoned, and its façade, decorated with lions and a menorah, can still be seen from the street.

From one community to two

According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, the first Jews were allowed to settle permanently in Brașov in 1826, and in 1828 they won the right to form a community. ANU – Museum of the Jewish People says these were families who had fled a plague in Bucharest. The Saxon guilds restricted competition, and according to the community’s website Jews could work only in trades the Saxons did not practise.

In 1868–1869 the Congress of the Jews of Hungary and Transylvania met in Budapest. The dispute over the communities’ statutes split the kingdom’s Jewry into three streams: Neolog (“Congress”), Orthodox and “Status Quo” communities. According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, the Brașov community adopted the Neolog orientation as early as 1868, and in 1877 a separate Orthodox community was founded alongside it.

According to Explore Carpathia, the Neologs, who favoured integration, were led by Aronsohn Löbl, and the Orthodox by Adler Bernhard. The Leo Baeck Institute’s archive project (JBAT) documents the split in the civil registers too. The marriage register for 1877–1885, written in German, records weddings “in the Orthodox synagogue”. Parallel registers record weddings in the “Temple”, the Neolog synagogue. The number of weddings shows that the Neolog community was the larger of the two. The Neolog community’s death register for 1886–1948 was already kept in Hungarian.

Two synagogues

In 1899–1901 the Neolog community built the synagogue on Strada Poarta Șchei, designed by Lipót Baumhorn. Today it is called “Beth Israel”, and its history is told in a separate article.

The marriage register shows that the Orthodox community already had a place of worship of its own in the 1870s. A permanent synagogue was built only in the 20th century, at Strada Castelului 64. According to the community’s website it was built in 1924. According to ANU, however, the “Orthodox temple” was built in 1915. The two dates may refer to different stages of construction, but this is not confirmed.

The community’s website describes a Moorish-style building of 365 m². The main façade has a ceramic mosaic of two lions holding a menorah, set among plant ornaments. The community calls this decoration rare, because many synagogues avoided images of animals. A mikveh operated beside the synagogue.

1941 and after

In 1941 Legionnaires ransacked the Orthodox synagogue. In 1949 Romania’s Jewish communities were reorganised under the communist regime, and according to the Encyclopaedia Judaica the two Brașov communities merged into one “with an Orthodox section”. The Orthodox worshippers who remained in the city joined the Neolog synagogue. Each wave of aliyah to Israel shrank the merged community further.

The building on Strada Castelului never again served as a synagogue. According to the community’s website it has been decommissioned and is used as a warehouse, and the authorities have refused permits to consolidate it, citing unstable ground. A visitor who described it on the Jewish East End of London website reached it through a private, gated alley. He found the exterior decoration largely intact and the interior divided into small flats. The present state of the interior has not been checked.

Institutions: one school for two communities

The Jewish school predates the split. According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, a secular Jewish school opened in 1860, and the community’s website credits its founding to Sigismund Steinhardt. The JBAT archive mentions an elementary school opened in 1864 with two teachers. From 1870 the Hebrew poet Solomon Ehrenkranz taught Hebrew there. Even after 1877 the school continued to serve both communities. When Jewish pupils were expelled from the public schools, a four-grade Jewish school operated from 1940 to 1944.

On burials: according to JBAT, after the split each community had its own cemetery. The death registers record the place and date of each burial and are now kept at the National Archives, Brașov County branch. The cemetery itself is covered in a separate article. Zionist youth movements appeared in the city after the First World War. According to the community’s website, a branch of the Jewish Territorial Organisation (ITO) was founded in 1912 and the Hakoah sports club in 1921. After 1944 a kosher kitchen and an old-age home were added in the courtyard of the Neolog synagogue.

People

• Aronsohn Löbl and Adler Bernhard: leaders of the Neologs and the Orthodox at the time of the 1877 split, according to Explore Carpathia.
• Rabbi Ludovic Pap-Rosenberg: inaugurated the Neolog synagogue on 20 August 1901.
• Sigismund Steinhardt: founder of the community school, according to the community’s website.
• Solomon Ehrenkranz: the Hebrew poet who taught Hebrew at the school from 1870.
• Aladar Zitrom: the community leader who led the synagogue’s post-war restoration, according to ANU.
• Tiberiu Roth: president of the community for more than 27 years. Rabbi Zvika Kfir is listed as the community’s rabbi.

Visiting

The Orthodox synagogue at Strada Castelului 64 is a short walk from Beth Israel on Strada Poarta Șchei. The building is closed, access runs through private property, and it can be seen only from outside. Do not enter the alley or courtyard without permission. Arrange a visit to Beth Israel, and any enquiry about the Orthodox synagogue, through the community office at Strada Poarta Șchei 27, tel. +40 757 570 803.