RIJEKA | Croatia | International Jewish Cemetery Project

Alternate names: Rijeka [Croa], Fiume [Ital], Sankt Veit am Flaum [Ger], Rěka [Slov], Rieka. 45°21' N, 14°25' E, Principal seaport of Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea. Croatia's third-largest city. 1900 Jewish population: about 2000. Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 1083: "Rijeka". [February 2009]

City of Rijeka
51000 Rijeka
Korzo 16 Croatia
(+385 51) 209-333, 209-527
(+385 51) 209-537, 334-008
Primorje-Gorski Kotar, County (08)

Jewish Communtiy Rijeka
I.Filipovica 9
51000 Rijeka, PP 65
e-mail :This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
President : Vlado Kon
Exhibition [February 2009]

Jewish Guide to Croatia [July 2014]

Alternate name: Fiume in Italian. A Jewish presence in Rijeka dates from the 15th century with a Jewish community formally established in 1781.The first synagogue founded was in 1832 in the home of Mozes Halevi in Calle del Tempio. This major seaport on the Istrian peninsula attracted Jews from all over the Hapsburg Empire. When Istria became part of Italy after the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city attracted many Italian Jews. As many as 2,500 Jews lived in Rijeka between the WWI and WWII. In WWII, the Fascist Ustasa Regime established about thirty concentration camps to isolate and eliminate "non-Croatian" elements of the population and political opponents. Jews, other non-Catholic minorities (Serbs, Gypsies, and Muslims.) Inmates were murdered at the camps or deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Holocaust memorials exist. The Jewish Community in Zagreb has an extensive Holocaust Documentation Center to publish materials and maintain a database on Holocaust topics, including victims and survivors. See: Svob, Melita. Jews in Croatia: Holocaust Victims and Survivors. Zagreb: Jewish Community of Zagreb, 2000.The main Neologue community and a smaller Orthodox congregation mainly comprised of immigrants from Poland, Russia, and Galicia made up the Jewish Community. The ornate, domed Neolog synagogue designed by Lipot Baumhorn and built in 1902-3 was destroyed in 1944. The modernist Orthodox synagogue built in 1928 [1930?] and used by the 70-member Rijeka Jewish community is one of only three synagogues in Croatia (Dubrovnik and Split) not damaged, destroyed, or converted for other use during or after World War II. [Musafia, Josip. "The Orthodox Synagogue in Rijeka," Voice, No. 2, Autumn 1998, Zagreb, 38-39.] Designed by engineers G. Angyal and P. Fabbro, the asymmetrical, unadorned three-part façade with a brick tower and two entrances of different heights has a vestibule and a sanctuary divided into three sections. The Ark is made of Carrara marble from Ancona, Italy. Landmarked as a cultural monument by the Rijeka Commission of the National Bureau for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage. [February 2009]

Sephardic Orthodox Synagogue on Ivana Filipovica St. was built in 1928 and is still in use in 1992. Ashkenazi Synagogue, built in 1862 by Lipot Baumhorn was destroyed in 1944. [Land Registry: Folder No: 3438 Plot No.: 1041/9] Jewish Community, established in 18th century still exists. Jewish Population: 1781-25; 1910-1696; 1938-1783; 1941-750; 1947-200; 1994-99. See: Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel:A Guide to East-Central Europe. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1992. (page 244) [1999]

The website of the 100-member Jewish community includes information in English on the Jewish history of Rijeka, including on the existing orthodox synagogue, built in modernist style the early 1930s and designed by Gyozo Angyal and Pietro Fabbro; the Great Synagogue, built in 1902-1903 and designed by Lipot Baumhorn (destroyed in 1944-1948); and the Jewish cemetery, laid out in 1875 as part of the Kozala municipal cemetery and today listed as a historical monument. The orthodox synagogue, which underwent restoration in 2006, has a three-part facade and a brick tower, with entrances on two level; its ornate ark was brought to Rijeka from Ancona. To visit the synagogue, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [July 2014]

Downloadable PDF brochure on Jewish Rijeka, in English and Croatian [July 2014]

CEMETERIES

Rijeka Jewish Cemeteries web site, with map and images [July 2014]

KOZALA MUNICIPAL CEMETERY,:

Jewish Section: In 1875, a Jewish section was established with today a ceremonial hall, about 550 monuments, and an a historic landmark. About twenty tombstones from the old Jewish cemetery were moved here and incorporated into a commemorative wall. In 1981, the Jewish community erected a Holocaust memorial designed by architect Zdenko Sila. In white Istrian stone, the memorial bears the names of the 278 Holocaust victims from Rijeka. [February 2009]

Cemetery: Address: Kozala. The Ceremonial Hall and 550 monuments exist on property nationalized in 1976.[Land Registry: Folder No: 727 Plot No.: 324] Source: Srdjan Matic, MD, 40 West 95th Street, Apt. 1-B, New York, NY 10025. (212) 222-7783. [1999]

OLD JEWISH CEMETERY: Founded in 1840 or earlier outside the city walls, cemetery was active until 1874. [February 2009]