BURGAS FORMER SYNAGOGUE

In the early 1900s, Isaac Presenti, was considered one of the richest Jews in Bulgaria at the turn of the 19th century, donated a plot of land in the centre of Burgas for the construction of a synagogue, which was promptly erected in 1905 or 1909 (accounts vary). It was exquisitely bedecked with a Moorish façade and two internal balconies in its prayer hall. After a few years the Jewish school was built next to the synagogue. 

The original plans for the synagogue have not been preserved, prompting local historians to contest its origins. Many believe that the synagogue was designed and constructed by Ricardo Toscani, an Italian architect who came to Burgas, married there, and built most of the old city. But others claim the Burgas synagogue was the work of Austrian Friedrich Grünanger, who is credited with the Sofia Synagogue. 

Like most other synagogues in Bulgaria, the Burgas synagogue closed in the late 1940s as, one after another, the Jews left. It did, however, have more luck than its counterparts elsewhere as, after being used as a warehouse and a non-Jewish community hall, it was converted into an art gallery in the 1960s. It remains so to this day (24 Mitropolit Simeon Street) and the local Shalom organisation is next door, in the building of the former Jewish school. 

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One result of its preservation, ironically, was its destruction as a synagogue. The tall prayer hall was divided into three floors and its intricate ornaments and paintings were whitewashed. 

Events took another ironic turn in the 2000s, at the time of a further renovation. As the roof needed repair, contractors started scraping off the whitewash. Old Hebrew letters and Stars 

of David were quick to reappear from under the layers of paint and mould, a selfstyled palimpsest standing evidence to the building's turbulent past. 

Fortunately, they are still there, and can be seen watching over the collection of Christian Orthodox artwork on display in the art gallery. The combination of the two evokes the days when Burgas was a truly cosmopolitan city.