Closed Early… HOW SILLY!!!!!!
Background
Oradea, located in the northwestern part of Romania, is the tenth largest city of the country, and the seat of Bihor County. Geographically, it is situated at the crossroads between the trading route which linked central, eastern, and south-eastern Europe to the Orient. The modern city extends from the foothills of the western Carpathian Mountains and expands along the banks of the River Crisul Repede.
Today the city’s population numbers 210,000 inhabitants, consisting of about 70% Romanians, 26% Hungarians, and a little over 2.1% other, including Germans, Jews, Slovaks, Gypsies, etc., according to the city’s official website.
Oradea is undergoing modern day economic development, but more significantly, since the demise of the communist regime in 1989, a great deal of social and cultural changes as well.
The city has a rather complicated and controversial historical background due to its location and the diversity of its population. It has been known by several names: Varadinum [Latin], Grosswardein [German], Nagy-Várad [Hungarian], and Oradea [Romanian] — each name used during a particular historical era, depending who ruled the region. In the Western world, that region is better known as Transylvania. One thing is certain: the city is quite old.
According to Romanian data, the area was inhabited as early as 2200 BC; according to Hungarian data, Oradea was established as a Roman-Catholic Bishopric during the reign of King Ladislaus I, having been mentioned as early as 1113. It knew the Tartar invasion in 1241, the Turkish rule between 1660-1690, the Hapsburg Empire from 1692. The next 200 years was an era of many changes for the settlement, encompassing revolutions, uprisings, brief periods of independence, only to be followed by two world wars and a communist regime, whose demise followed the Romanian Revolution of 1989. The city’s population and development were sharply and directly affected by the swift annexation of the region during upheavals, to either Hungary or Romania.
To stay with modern history, following the defeat and disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Transylvania was awarded to Romania by the Peace Treaty of Trianon. It remained so until August 30, 1940, when by the terms of the second Vienna Awards, the Northern part of Transylvania, including Oradea, was awarded to Hungary, while the Southern portion of the region remained part of Romania. Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Northern Transylvania, including the city of Oradea, became once again an integral part of Romania.
History of the Jewish Population in Oradea
Jewish presence in the region, according to Daniel Lowy’s research, dates to the Vetch century, more precisely to a document of 1489, which mentions a person named “Judeo Joza de Varad nunc Bude.” The establishment of the Jewish community is mentioned in written documents of 1722, and by 1733 we learn about the creation of the Chevra Kadisha. During this time, Oradea consisted of four independent town-states: Velenta (Velence), Subcetate (Varalja/Lower Fortress), Orasul Nou (Uj varos/New City), and Olosig (Olaszi). Later, in 1849 they unified to become the municipality of Oradea Mare (Nagyvarad/Greater Oradea). Due to severe restrictions on settling or renting, Jews were first permitted to live in mud huts they constructed in the wastelands around the Fortress. In the beginning, they settled between Velenta and the Fortress. The 1735 conscription documents show Jews living also in the New City and Olosig districts.
1781, the year when Emperor Joseph II passed the Act of Tolerance, marked important changes in the laws affecting Jews. They included the right of enrolling Jewish children in all religious and public schools, gave Jews the right to work the land and practice many professions forbidden until then, and it mandated using German as the official language, Hebrew being reserved only for use in religious services.
In 1783, the Superior Council of War made a decree regarding the Fortress of Oradea. It was decided that the army no longer needed the Fortress and the surrounding area was to be subdivided for residential dwellings, among them dwellings for the Jews. This district known as Subcetate, by 1792 became home to 46 Jewish families, of which more than half owned their housing.
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1 Comment
The stuff at the end was very sad 😢💕