International Jewish Cemetery Project - Romania C The cemetery is located at Chinari, no. 53, cod 4318, judet Mures, 4636 2435, 166.6 miles NNW of Bucharest and 10 km from Targu Mures. Alternate name: Varhegy (Hungarian). Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Mayor Bubau Viorel, Santana de Mures.
- The Jewish Community of Targu Mures, A. Filimon Str., no. 23, cod 4300, Tel. 0040 - 65 161810, Tîrgu Mures, Romania.
- The Federation of the Jewish Communities of Romania, Sf. Vineri Str., no 9-11, Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania.
- "Dr. Moshe Carmilly" Institute for Hebrew and Jewish History, Universitatii Str., no. 7-9, room 61, 3400 Cluj Napoca, Romania, director: Ladislau Gyemant, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Key holder and caretaker: Szasz Andrei, no. 53, Chinari.
The 1850 Jewish population by census was 19 and in 1930 was 5.In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the ghetto of Tîrgu Mures and on May 27, 30, and June 8 were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery was established in 19th century. Last known burial was 20th century.
The isolated rural/agricultural flat land has no sign or marker. Reached via private road, access is open with permission. A fence with a non-locking gate surrounds the site. Approximate pre- and post-WWII size is 80 m x 75 m. 20-100 stones are visible. 1-20 stones are not in original location. 25%-50% of the stones are toppled or broken. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is good all year. No special sections.
The oldest known gravestone dates from 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, and limestone flat shaped and smoothed and inscribed common gravestones have Hebrew inscriptions. No known mass graves. The national Jewish community owns the property used for orchard. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Pre- and post-WWII size is the same. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop. The never vandalized cemetery maintenance has been clearing vegetation. Current care is occasional clearing or cleaning by unpaid individuals. No structures.
Cosmina Popa, Tatra Str. no. 4, tel. 064/ 128764, Cluj Napoca, 3400 and Ioana Oprea, Bd. 21 Decembrie, 13-15, 064/190849, Cluj-Napoca, 3400 visited the site and completed the survey on 14 August 2000 using the following documentation:
- Recensamantul din 1850. Transilvania (The 1850 Jewish population census. Transylvania) coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1996.
- Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian, Budapest, 1995, in Hungarian
- Recensamantul general al populatiei din 29 decembrie 1930 (The General Census of the Population from December 29, 1930), vol. II, Bucuresti 1938
- Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localitatilor din Transilvania (The Historical Dictionary of Localities in Transylvania), vol. I-II, Bucuresti, 1967
Cosmina Popa and Ioana Raiciu interviewed Szasz Andrei, Chinari. [January 2003]