Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Oradea

  • Oradea – Oradea Neolog Synagogue

    Oradea – Oradea Neolog Synagogue

    Located in a prominent riverside site in the heart of Oradea is the Neolog synagogue, which is one of the largest buildings of its type in Europe. There were two Jewish communities in Oradea, the Neolog and the Orthodox, which jointly made the city one of the hearts of Judaism in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

    The stone records the completion of the synagogue, which was in 1878, with work having started in October 1876. The building could house over 1,000 people and was similar in design to the synagogue in Nuremberg, which the Nazis ripped down in 1938.

    When the building was restored recently, this letter from 1878 was found in a sealed container.

    This photo is taken from upstairs and it’s a beautiful building, being spacious and light. I didn’t expect this synagogue to be open, it’s rare to find a building such as this which survives, given the damage done to them during the Nazi years. There was a small admission charge to get in (5 lei, so just under £1), but they’ve allowed access to nearly all parts of the building.

    However, the restoration of the building is recent and must have been a real labour of love to get to this stage. The Jewish community in the city was nearly destroyed by the time that the Second World War had ended, so the synagogue fell out of religious use. There had been efforts to keep the synagogue open for religious services in the late 1940s, but the new communist regime didn’t take positively to this plan. The small Jewish community that had survived the war, which was just a few hundred, decided though that they wanted to try and keep the building for what might be a more positive future and so they maintained it as best as they could.

    Another photo from upstairs, looking towards the rear of the synagogue.

    The organ.

    Looking down into the synagogue.

    Two photos of the dome.

    The whole building is ornately decorated. One mystery to me is how the Jewish community managed to keep ownership of this building during the communist era in Romania, I’m surprised that this piece of prime real estate wasn’t taken off of them. I can only imagine that there were some determined members of the community who fought to prevent any such action.

    Two panels, which again I’m surprised have survived as so many of these were lost during the Second World War and the run up to it. The last rabbi of the synagogue was István Vajda, who was forced to become a member of the Jewish council overseeing the new ghetto, and he had to endure the knowledge that his wife was being tortured. He sadly died in a concentration camp.

    Standing proud once again in the heart of Oradea.

  • Oradea – Crișul Repede

    Oradea – Crișul Repede

    Just photos, this is the Crișul Repede, which runs through the heart of Oradea. It would be nice if they could complete a riverside path all the way along, but unfortunately there are some buildings where access isn’t possible at the moment along the bank. Some of the buildings also need some repair, although when I visited in 2017 there were numerous projects to fix things up, so I assume progress is being made.

    The building at the rear of the below photo is Oradea’s Town Hall, it’s not possible to walk along the left-hand side bank to get to it, but that would make a marvellous little promenade area.

  • Oradea – Eva Heyman Memorial

    Eva Heyman is one of the key iconic people from the tragedy that unfolded for the Jews in Oradea during the Second World War. Heyman was born on 13 February 1931 and she kept a diary during the Nazi occupation of the area, detailing how Jews were treated.

    Eva was sent to Auschwitz on 2 June 1944 and accounts suggest that she remained strong and didn’t lose her willpower. Unfortunately she was in pain from her wounds and she was found by Mengele, who ensured that she was killed. She died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz on 17 October 1944.

    Her mother wrote:

    “A good-hearted female doctor was trying to hide my child, but Mengele found her without effort. Eva’s feet were full of sore wounds. ‘Now look at you’, Mengele shouted, ‘you frog, your feet are foul, reeking with pus! Up with you on the truck!’ He transported his human material to the crematorium on yellow-coloured trucks. Eyewitnesses told me that he himself had pushed her on to the truck.”

    Eva’s last diary entry was:

    “It has to be terrible in the wagon, and now no one says that we are going, they all say they deport us. A gendarme patrols in front of our house, yesterday was in the Rhedely Gardens, because from here they start the trains with the Jews, not from the station, so that they do not see the town says Grandpa. There were about 80 people in a wagon and so many people gave them a single bucket of water, and it is even more terrible that they have cracked the wagons.

    The gendarme said he could not understand the Jews, they did not even cry to the children, they all moved like sleepwalkers, they did not even live, they jumped into hard cars without a word. Although I, My Little Diary, do not want to die, I want to live, even if only the whole sector I can stay here, I would wait for the end of the war in a cellar, or in the attic or in any hole, My little Diary, I would also kiss the gendarme who looked crucified and took our flour, only to kill me, only to let me live. “

    The diary was recovered after the end of the Second World War and was published in 1948.

  • Oradea – KFC

    In between my visiting other more locally run restaurants in Oradea, I felt the need to visit to KFC as well. I didn’t want to go for myself of course, but just so that I could tell Dylan and Leon about it in case they asked.

    In case anyone is interested, which I admit is highly unlikely, the chicken strips in Romania are similar to others KFC outlets in eastern Europe, thinner and tastier. The staff member was very friendly, and with his Romanian and my English we struggled through. Primarily because the staff member had a greater knowledge of English than I had of Romanian if I’m being fair….

  • Oradea – Rhédey Mausoleum

    This mausoleum is located within the grounds of Oradea Zoo and for a while it was used to keep the animals in, which isn’t perhaps ideal in terms of historic integrity and respect for the dead.

    Before the site was used as a zoo, it was a public garden and the mausoleum was constructed in 1804. The site fell into disrepair at a couple of times, being vandalised in 1830 (just before the tomb was completed and brought into use, primarily as the person to be buried there wasn’t dead yet) and in 1912 the mausoleum was broken into with items stolen and the bones scattered.

    After a period of the zoo’s collection of deer using the mausoleum as their winter quarters, it was decided that the site should be cleaned up and treated more respectfully. It was repaired in 2012 and is now not used by any of the zoo’s animals…..

    The tomb is of Rhédey Lajos, who stated in his will that he wanted to be laid to rest in Oradea. Oradea was formerly part of Hungary and Lajos was a nobleman and politician from the country who lived between 1761 and 1831.

    There’s an information board outside the mausoleum, but unfortunately the information on it is only in Romanian and Hungarian.

  • Oradea – Oradea Zoo

    Oradea Zoo isn’t particularly large in size, but it’s clean and well presented. There were only three people, including me, at the zoo when I visited in October 2017, so it wasn’t exactly what one might call busy. The zoo feels dated in terms of the amount of space given to animals, but it is located within the city centre and there isn’t any obvious way that they could expand their footprint. Perhaps in time an entirely new zoo will be constructed outside of the city centre, although I’m not sure that the visitor numbers would justify such a project.

    There’s plenty of information in English around the site and it’s all easy to navigate. It’s possible to buy some food, which varies by species, to feed the animals with, although I’m not sure that this is the best of ideas. Zoo animals should really in my non zoological opinion by fed by their keepers, so they know what they’re being fed and when.

    Anyway, below are some photos of my visit:

  • Oradea – Rivo

    Rivo, which takes its name from the riverside location by the Crişul Repede, is one of the more expensive restaurants in Oradea. However, they had a business lunch meal at a reasonable price, although the location was probably still a little upmarket for my normal tastes. The restaurant is quite large and it must be a challenge to get a lunch trade here, but their offer was tempting.

    Modern decor and all very comfortable. Service was efficient other than no-one noticed me enter and so I was standing looking confused for a longer time that I’d have ideally liked. After that though the service was entirely satisfactory.

    Ursus Black is a Romanian dark beer and in a country where these aren’t particularly easy to find, this was a decent drink. Tastes of coffee and a rich flavour, although it’s 6% so that’s not unsurprising.

    The fish and chips was neat in its presentation, although I’m personally a little sceptical about these smears, I’d rather just have a heap. Fish was perch, perfectly well cooked and the coating had some crunch and texture to it.

    The chocolate fondant with a cherry compote, along with some random fruit. Beautifully presented and although this isn’t a dish that I’d usually order, I’m glad that I did on this occasion. The fondant leaked beautifully when I cut into it, the compote was rich and the fruit added some texture to the whole arrangement. The ice cream probably wasn’t needed, but it complemented the fondant well and so this pleased me.

    The meal was a little expensive by Romanian terms, coming in at around £10 for the two courses and the drink. Given the quality of the experience and the comfortable nature of the surroundings, this entirely met my expectations. The staff members spoke perfect English and the service was welcoming throughout, or at least, it was after they saw that I was waiting.

  • Oradea – Pizzeria Due Fratelli

    The best pizza in Oradea was meant to be at Pizzeria Due Fratelli (and they’ve apparently now prepared one million of them), so, off I went. I suspect that the photo alone will be enough for people I know to suspect what I thought of the beer selection, but this was a back street fast food location and there were also some decent wines to choose from.

    This is the Diavola pizza with its toppings of salami, onion and garlic oil. It wasn’t exceptional, but it was perfectly sufficient and it cost around £4 which made it all rather agreeable. I thought that the edges needed a little more crisping up, but the amount of toppings was generous and the ingredients were of a good quality.

    The tiramisu, which was around £2, was again of a decent quality and had a pleasant flavour of coffee.

    The service throughout was helpful and fortunately the staff spoke sufficient English to make the transaction somewhat easier. The menu was though only in Romanian, although I had the assistance of Google Translate to get me past that little problem. The pizzeria is cash only, but the environment is comfortable and there’s an external seating area for those who either like to smoke or can tolerate others smoking.

    So, all rather friendly, and the value for money was excellent.