UPDATE: I am Romanian who just moved back to Romania after 25 years in US. My wife and I are missionaries and are building a Christian campground on my family property in Finate which is at the old mill site. We just purchased the property where the Jewish cemetary is located. We would like to get some history on it and would like to see it restored. We are willing and would be honored to keep it cleaned up. We found it as we were cleaning the land this fall then did some searching on-lne and found it listed. Is there someone who could give us info on restoring and what needs to be done to see this site preserved? We would appreciate any assistance in this matter. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [January 2009]
US Commission Number: RO/MM/03
Alternate Hungarian name: Kovarfonac. Located in Maramures County at 4732 2346, 20.2 kilometers SE of Baia Mare and approximately 19 km. from Tirgu Lapus. As you drive along the main road through the village of Finate, from the town of Cernesti, the cemetery lies beyond the end of a dirt small dirt road on the left. When visiting this cemetery, the best thing to do is to ask for directions to the old "moara" (moe-arah), or mill, which lies at the end of the small dirt road about 150 meters from the main road. A small footpath leads beyond the mill, traverses a footbridge over the river, and continues towards the slope of a hill. The cemetery will be on your left. The distance from the mill is approximately 150 meters.
- LOCAL: The Jewish Community in Baia Mare was unaware of this site at the time of the survey. It is not known whether the Jewish Community in Bucuresti is aware of this site.
Although this cemetery in Finate (Kovarfonac) did not figure on any of the lists that we had, local residents informed us of its presence. The cemetery has no caretaker and is likely entirely unknown to all but a few of the village residents. Someone has obviously visited this site within the past ten years as one of the stones has had the text highlighted with paint. The major threat to the cemetery is uncontrolled access and apparently no care. The site is located off the side of a grassy path leading up through a grove of trees between a mill and a farm on top of the hill where the grass and undergrowth are regularly trimmed (likely by whoever uses the path). However, there is a good deal of underbrush around the one remaining standing stone that threatens to topple it eventually. Hopefully someone can be appointed caretaker; and the site can be looked after. Until then, we can only hope that the stones will not be hauled away or damaged.
Present cemetery size is by on-site guess: 30 m. It is not easy to tell as there is no clear definition as to where graves began and ended. There are only a few stones but there are mounds in the land where graves might be. 3 limestone, flat-shaped, smoothed and Hebrew inscribed gravestones are in the cemetery, one facedown, one broken into two pieces and facedown, and one stand, recently painted. Vegetation is a constant problem disturbing stones. Water drainage is good all year. The present owner of the property is unknown. (It seems that what remains of the cemetery is located next to a grassy path.) Adjacent properties are agricultural and pathway. Uncontrolled access, weather erosion and vegetation are threats.
John DeMetrick and Christina Crowder, (formerly of Cluj, they have no further information) . They visited the site on 10 April 2000.