On another outing from Uzhhorod, I visited Mukachevo. This is my Rosenthal and Schwimmer ancestral city. They all lived in or nearby to the large city. I had nothing specific to look for, so we just visited the usual places.
We began at the synagogue. My driver’s uncle worked there and we waited until someone let us into the building. Then we headed for the two Jewish cemeteries. Again, my driver stopped to ask directions instead of knowing where he was going. It made the trip a little more interesting. We visited the main downtown square where the synagogue used to be, and saw at a distance a renovated synagogue building. Apparently, there are now two synagogues in Mukachevo, though everyone refers to “the” synagogue as if there’s only one. And finally, we stopped at Palanok Castle. My driver stayed with the car to stave off the gypsy kids, so I walked through myself. There was no information in English, so I didn’t learn any of the history or stories behind things.
I did have a moment at the castle. Two people were talking to each other in English, mentioning they wanted to ask me to take a photo of them. Then they asked me, probably in Ukrainian.
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- Mukachevo Synagogue
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- Mukachevo Synagogue
This was formerly the synagogue building, now the rabbi's residence.
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- Jewish Memorial
This is on the side of a bank at the city center, where the synagogue used to be.
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- Mukachevo Synagogue
The other synagogue, newly renovated, at the city center. No one was there.
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- City Center
A memorial.
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- City Center - City Council Building
We walked through to a garden in the back.
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- New Jewish Cemetery
Wasn't much to look at from the outside.
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- New Jewish Cemetery
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- New Jewish Cemetery
The building in the middle housed the graves of Rebbe Shpira and his family.
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- Old Jewish Cemetery
The gate was locked, but it opened anyway.
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- Old Jewish Cemetery
This was mostly a very large field.
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- Old Jewish Cemetery
Some stones were standing along the wall, others were embedded in the wall.
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- Old Jewish Cemetery
Some stones were lying on the ground.
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- Old Jewish Cemetery
A memorial at the entrance.
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- Old Jewish Cemetery
Another memorial at the entrance, on the other side of the wall.
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- Palanok Castle
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- Palanok Castle
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- Palanok Castle
Everyone took a picture holding on to his finger.
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- Palanok Castle
A view of the Carpathian mountains the castle wall.
The URL of this post is http://idogenealogy.com/blog/2012/12/26/mukachevo-ukraine/.
All photos and content Copyright 2012 by Banai Lynn Feldstein.
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