The cemetery is located at Les, com. Nojorid, 3718, judet Bihor, Romania at 4657 2151, 268.7 miles NW of Bucharest and 15 km from Oradea. Alternate names: Less, Varadles (Hungarian). Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
The 1880 Jewish population by census was 27, by 1900 census was 34 and in 1930 was 11. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the Oradea ghetto and on May 23, 25, 28-30, and June 1-5, 27 were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Orthodox The cemetery was established at end of the 19th century. Last known burial was inter-war period.
The isolated rural/agricultural hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by a public road, access is open with permission via a gate that locks. Approximate pre-WWII size is unknown. Approximate post-WWII size is 84 x 16 m. 1-20 stones are visible. All gravestones are in original location. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is good all year.
The oldest known gravestone dates from end of the 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble smoothed and inscribed common gravestones have Hebrew and Hungarian inscriptions. No known mass graves. The local Jewish community owns the property used for
Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized occasionally in the last ten years or in the last ten years. [sic] Maintenance has been cleaning stones and clearing vegetation. Current care is regular caretaker paid by the Jewish community of Oradea. No structures.
Ursutiu Claudia, Pietroasa Str. no. 21, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, tel: 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey on 6 July 2000 using the following documentation:
- Recensamantul din 1880. Transilvania coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1997.
- Recensamantul din 1900. Transilvania 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
- Zsido Lexicon, ed. by Ujvari Peter, Budapest, 1929
Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian - 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 Ceatau Maria, Les. [January 2003]