Only in the 19th century did the Yiddish theatre emerge as a distinct cultural institution. Abraham Goldfaden (1840-1908), born in the Russian Empire, in the city of Starokonstantinov, in 1840, was the creator of the world’s first professional Yiddish theatre. On August 19, 1876, he and his company performed a play in the Romanian city Jassy, at “Pomul Verde.”

The Haggibbor Sports Club started with a football team, but in the 1930s, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Vilmos Erős, teams of swimming, water polo, tennis, table tennis, bowling, gymnastics, fencing, skiing, chess, athletics and boxing were established. The club also organised regular hiking tours in the forests around Cluj, which attracted hundreds of participants.

The Chevra Kadisha of Cluj has traditionally provided healthcare services to the poor members of the community. Since the end of the 19th century/ beginning of the 20th century, the organisation has employed one or two doctors who would home visit the patients and bring them medication bought from donations offered to the charity. However, only two doctors and one medical practice with two beds for emergency cases were not sufficient for the entire community, because, despite common stereotypes, most of the local Jewish people had a rather modest income.

This year's European Days of Jewish Culture festival will be held in 36 European countries building on Jewish experiences of pluralism, engaging in dialogue with others on their experiences, and collaborating towards the lived reality of vivre ensemble.

At Muzeon, you can listen to David's story, a hallucinating story about survival. His life story has been restored and reconstructed based on archive materials, and today his voice can be heard via an audio guide, performed by actors.

Paul’s story is a fascinating destiny that can be discovered and experienced in the museum. Paul Lusztig was a simple Jewish man, who lived in Cluj in the past, and his story has been reconstructed based on archive documents.

Julia is one of the three audio guides of the museum. Her story, as it is exhibited in the museum and narrated as an audio guide, is based on the real experiences of her life, and was reconstructed after her diary, letters, and personal documents discovered in the Lusztig family archive.