FORMER SEPHARDI SYNAGOGUE, VARNA

The Sephardi synagogue, known to most citizens of Varna simply as the "Large Synagogue," was erected in 1890. Its architecture is the typical mixture of Neoclassical and Moorish styles, which was very popular at the time. 

Situated right behind the Neo-Baroque building of the Admiralty House, the current General Staff of the Bulgarian Navy, the Sephardi Synagogue (on the intersection of Pres- byter Kozma and Vardar streets) was off limits for most of the second half of the 20th century. Next door to it, the house of the Sephardi rabbi was used by military intelligence. Now the fence around the former synagogue is gone, but its roof has already collapsed, trees sprout inside its interior, and it is doubtful whether the fine late-19th century structure can ever be restored. The courts returned the rabbinical house to the Jewish community but the military refused to vacate it, citing reasons of national security. In 2017 plans to restore the building into a cultural centre were unveiled but so far these have stalled.