Abandoned and ruined Ashkenazi Synagogue in Constanța, Romania

3 comments
  1. Constanța, just like the entire Dobrogea was multicultural, more precisely a model of multiculturalism because there were not many ethnic tensions. Even during the Romanian-Bulgarian wars (second Balkan War and WW1) there were not ethnic purges like in other places. The only black spot is the anti-semitic measures taken by Romania during the late 30’s and 40’s, although there must have been few deportation because mainly Jews rom Bukovina, Bessarabia and Transnistria were deported.

    At 1900 Romanians, Jews, Germans, Bulgarians, Turks, Russians (more in the Danube Delta) lived there. This Synagogue was build around 1910. There was another synagogue in the city (a Sephardic one). It seems that the one in the picture was in use until the 90’s when there were not enough Jews to maintain it.

    The city became Romanian in 1878 when most of the region was incorporated into Romania. In 1910, King Carol I pushed for the construction of a mosque in order to show support for the Muslim population there.

    Now the region is way more “Romanian than before, there still is a Muslim minority here. [This](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/8/20/romania-a-beacon-of-coexistence-for-muslims-in-eastern-europe) is a very nice article from Al Jazeera that praises orthodox-muslim relations there.

    Unfortunately, the region does not have any more Jews as they left for Israel.

  2. I know this place, it’s a shame that it was so neglected, the building is beautiful but from what I gathered there are some legal problems in regards to its ownership and no one is able to do anything about its state.

    And in another testament of the harmony of various cultures and ethnicities that reside in this country, it’s just a minute away on foot from the grand mosque of Constanta.

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