I found this abandoned synagogue back in 2013, on a visit to Chisinau, Moldova.
This synagogue stands in the city's Jewish cemetery, and it was built sometime around the end of the 19th century. When the Nazis invaded Moldova in 1941 however, the building was largely destroyed by incendiary bombing raids. In the 18 months that followed, Chisinau's population of 60,000 Jews would be systematically slaughtered... either shot in their homes, taken to the city limits to face a firing squad, or else sent on 'death marches' to the camps in Transnistria.
It was a complete chance that I came across this building, tucked away in the back corner of the heavily overgrown cemetery on the edge of the city. The place was beautiful, and felt truly untouched… very little sign of human interaction, while the vegetation has grown back to almost completely hide the building from the outside.
I’ve had these photos for quite a while, without publishing them. Given the significance of the site though, I felt a little too voyeuristic simply sharing pretty pictures of this place without justifying that by doing some proper research into the history of the Jewish massacres in Moldova.
My full historical report, if you’re interested, is here:
An Abandoned Synagogue in The Ruins of The Chisinau Ghetto
Most of it is off-topic for this forum though (veering more in the direction of ‘dark tourism’), so if you’re purely interested in the ruin shots, then you’ll find the best of those below.
Thanks for looking.
DR
For context, here are a few shots of the overgrown Jewish cemetery in which the synagogue stands:
And here’s a second synagogue, another victim of the 1941 bombing raids, located in the city centre.
This synagogue stands in the city's Jewish cemetery, and it was built sometime around the end of the 19th century. When the Nazis invaded Moldova in 1941 however, the building was largely destroyed by incendiary bombing raids. In the 18 months that followed, Chisinau's population of 60,000 Jews would be systematically slaughtered... either shot in their homes, taken to the city limits to face a firing squad, or else sent on 'death marches' to the camps in Transnistria.
It was a complete chance that I came across this building, tucked away in the back corner of the heavily overgrown cemetery on the edge of the city. The place was beautiful, and felt truly untouched… very little sign of human interaction, while the vegetation has grown back to almost completely hide the building from the outside.
I’ve had these photos for quite a while, without publishing them. Given the significance of the site though, I felt a little too voyeuristic simply sharing pretty pictures of this place without justifying that by doing some proper research into the history of the Jewish massacres in Moldova.
My full historical report, if you’re interested, is here:
An Abandoned Synagogue in The Ruins of The Chisinau Ghetto
Most of it is off-topic for this forum though (veering more in the direction of ‘dark tourism’), so if you’re purely interested in the ruin shots, then you’ll find the best of those below.
Thanks for looking.
DR
For context, here are a few shots of the overgrown Jewish cemetery in which the synagogue stands:
And here’s a second synagogue, another victim of the 1941 bombing raids, located in the city centre.