Jewish Community Centre

The entity of Jewish Community has always had the role to organise the spiritual and economical life of its members. It settled in a Jewish private property constructed in 1820, also known as “The five roads house”. The Community benefitted the city by building hospitals, schools and institutions to help the poor. At the 1930 census, the Jews represented around 35.000 people (a third of the population of Iași), but after the 1940s it dramatically shrank to now less than 300 mixed families. In 1986 the Jewish Community Museum was opened, featuring religious objects, publications, and old photographs. A decorated canopy reminds the visitor of traditional marriages. Since 2011 the museum is found within the Community’s house, along with a Jewish ritual restaurant. (PHOTO : Ioan APETREI)