One of the old Jewish cemeteries preserved in what is now the city is the one in the Buiucani sector, next to the fire station on Milano Street. It is estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 Jews are buried here. The current land is 12 hectares, originally around 15-16 hectares. The town gradually “swallows” its territory.

According to statistics, the dead were buried here at the beginning of the 19th century.  Here, among the later monuments, is a memorial to the victims of the 1903 Chisinau pogrom, and not far from it is the grave of Rabbi Leib Jehuda Cirilson, chief rabbi of Bessarabia for many decades. It is believed that the rabbi died during a bombing raid under the roof of his house in August 1944.

There are also the ruins of a synagogue, the only one of its kind in Moldova. The aviator’s grave has also been preserved – the monument is decorated with a propeller, which still rotates in the wind to this day…

During World War II, the eastern part of the cemetery was badly damaged. In 1958, the area was divided into two parts, one of which the authorities later turned into a farmers’ market. By 1960 the eastern part of the cemetery was completely destroyed, the tombstones were crushed and used to build the fence for the rest of the Jewish cemetery and other cemeteries in Chisinau, as well as to pave paths in the park. Alunelul Park, tennis courts, and residential neighborhoods were developed on the territory once occupied by the cemetery.

The western part of the Jewish cemetery survives to this day, but most of the graves are in poor condition, with gravestones damaged, plaques broken and erased, and fences rusted. Vandals, natural influences and ruthless time are destroying even the most durable stones and memories…