Alternate names: Valea lui Mihai [Rom], Érmihályfalva [Hun], Mihaifalău, Valea lui. Located at 47°31' N, 22°09' E, in western Transylvania near the Hungarian border. Jewish population: 492 (1877), 1,430 (1930). References:
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), pp. 1372-1373: "Valea lui Mihai".
- JewishGen Hungary SIG
- JewishGen Romanian SIG
- ShtetLink [May 2009]
- Jewish Bukovina [Mar 2014]
- Czernowitz-Ephes [Mar 2014]
The cemetery is located at Valea lui Mihai, Oasului Street, 3768, judet Bihor, Romania at 4731 2209, 285.0 miles NW of Bucharest and 32 km from Carei. The alternate Hungarian name is Ermihalyfalva. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with four Jews.
- Mayor Torda Emerich, Republicii Str., no. 2, 3768 Valea lui Mihai
- The Jewish Community of Oradea, Mihai Viteazu Street no. 4, 3700 Oradea, Romania, tel. 0040-59-134843 (132587)
- The Federation of The Jewish Communities of Romania, Sfintu Vineri Street no. 9-11, sect. 3, Bucharest, Romania
- Interested: "Dr. Moshe Carmilly" Institute for Hebrew and Jewish History, Universitatii Street 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.
- Caretaker with key: Veres Iuliu, Oasului Street no. 6, Valea lui Mihai
The Jewish population by 1839-1840 census was 89 Jews, was 492 in 1880, was 1042 in 1900. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the local ghetto. From here, they were transferred to Oradea and on May 23, 25, 28-30, and June 1-5, 27 were deported to Auschwitz Cvi Berger, one of the first Jewish poets in Transylvania in the 19th century, lived here. In the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana from Amsterdam are two manuscripts including his Hebrew poems. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery was established in mid-19th century. Tzadakkim family buried there are Abraham, Moshe and Beniamin Johanan and his wife Sara and two Cohanim. Last known burial was 1990.
The urban hill, separate but near other cemeteries, has sign in Romanian and Hebrew that mentions Jews. Reached by a public road, access is open with permission. A fence with a gate that locks surrounds the site. Approximate pre- and post-WWII size is 300 x 100 m. 100-500 stones are visible. 100-500 are in original location. 1-20 stones are not in original location. Less than 25% of the stones are toppled or broken. Gravestones removed from the cemetery are in private hands. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is good all year.
Cannot determine if cemetery has/had special sections. The oldest known gravestone dates from second half of 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, and sandstone, slate, and concrete flat shaped, smoothed and inscribed, and carved relief-decorated, and double tombstones have Hebrew and Hungarian inscriptions. No known mass graves.
The local Jewish community owns the property used for Jewish cemetery and orchard. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Occasionally, organized Jewish group or pilgrimage tours, private visitors, and local residents visit the never vandalized cemetery. Maintenance has been re-erection of stones, patching broken stones, cleaning stones, clearing vegetation, and fixing wall by local non-Jewish residents in 1998-1999. Current care is regular caretaker paid by the Jewish community of Jewish Community of Oradea. Within the limits of the cemetery were tzadikkim's graves with ohels.
Ursutiu Claudia, Pietroasa Street no. 21, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, tel: 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey on 29 June 2001 using the following documentation:
- Recensamantul din 1880. Transilvania(1880 Transylvania Jewish Population Census.) coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1997.
- Recensamantul din 1900. (1900 Transylvania Jewish Population Census) coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj, 1999
- Recensamintul general al popula]iei din 29 decembrie 1930, ( The General Census of the population from december 29, 1930), vol. II, Bucuresti 1938
- Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
- Recensamantul general al populatiei Romaniei din 29 decembrie 1930, vol. II (The General Census of the Population of Romania from 29 December 1930, vol. II), Bucuresti, 1938
- Recensamintul general al populatiei din Romania din 7 ianuarie 1992 (The General Census of the Population of Romania from January 7, 1992), vol. I, Bucuresti, 1994
- Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localitatilor din Transilvania (The Historical Dictionary of Localities in Transylvania), vol. I-II, Bucuresti, 1967
- Otto Mitelstrass, Historisch-Landeskundlicher Atlas von Siebenburgen, Ortsnamenbuch, Heidelberg, 1992
- Microsoft Auto Route Express 1999
Claudia and Adrian Ursutiu interviewed Veres Iuliu, Filip Iosif, 29. 06. 2000, Valea lui Mihai. [January 2003]