Marosvásárhely/Târgu Mureș will hold its second Heritage Days on April 12-13, centered around the built heritage of the city’s Jewish community.
The event will consist of several lectures on the history of the Jewish community, its built heritage and guided tours to the city’s two synagogues and other notable buildings built by Jews.
In 1930, when the town had about 40,000 inhabitants, the Marosvásárhely Jewish community accounted for 12.1 percent or about 5,000.
The centerpiece of their built heritage is the so-called “New Synagogue” of the Status Quo Ante community, pictured in the title. It was built in the eclectic style in 1899-1900, when the town’s Jewish population outgrew its small prayer hall.
They commissioned Austrian architect Jakob Gärtner to design a monumental building “reflecting the material and social status of the community”. It is one of the largest synagogues in Transylvania.
The heritage days will also include the Marosvásárhely Jewish Museum, opened next to the synagogue in 2018.
Title image: Synagogue of the Status Quo Ante Jewish community in Marosvásárhely
