Plovdiv

ANCIENT MENORAH MOSAIC

A late 3rd century CE mosaic of a menorah, exhibited in the Museum of Archaeology Plovdiv, is the only visible remain from Plovdiv's ancient synagogue.

Perhaps the most spectacular remains of this early Jewish presence in Bulgaria is the ancient synagogue in Philippopolis, modern-day Plovdiv. Philippopolis was a major city on the road connecting Constantinople with Central Europe. It emerged as a large cosmopolitan centre, a patchwork of nationalities and religions that outshone other large cities of the colourful Roman Empire. 

The synagogue of the Philippopolis Jews had a splendid mosaic floor, with intricate geometrical motifs as well as lions, birds, panthers and menorahs. It was constructed in the 3rd century CE, but would be destroyed and rebuilt several times over the next several centuries. 

The trials and tribulations of the Philippopolis synagogue illustrate how easily the fate of the Jews changed under the Romans. The Roman Empire was tolerant towards the various faiths and religions, but with an important caveat. Regardless of what gods they venerated, its subjects had to respect the imperial cult, which deified whoever emperor happened to be in power at any given time. Obviously, this created a problem for both Judaism and Christianity. On the other hand, unlike Christianity, Judaism had the status of Religio licita, a "tolerated religion." In the 4th century, when Christianity gained momentum as an official religion, the pressures being put on Jews intensified, yet official attitudes could change like the breeze. Emperor Theodosius I , who in the late 4th century made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, officially ordered the governor of Moesia, in present-day northern Bulgaria, not to persecute Jews and not to demolish their synagogues. 

The Philippopolis synagogue is proof of these changing attitudes. When Theodosius died, his sons Arcadius and Honorius ruled the eastern and the western parts of the empire respectively. Anti-Jewish sentiment was on the rise. During their reign, the Philippopolis synagogue was destroyed for the first time, either as a result of antisemitism, or when the Huns conquered and ravaged the city in 441-442. 

The synagogue would be rebuilt and then destroyed yet again a century later.

It was discovered in the 1980s, during the construction of a block of flats. Its most spectacular mosaics were moved to the archaeology museum. When the archaeological survey ended, the block's construction continued. 

ZION SYNAGOGUE, PLOVDIV

The Zion Synagogue stands where another synagogue may have been erected as early as 1711. It is difficult to spot as it is in a courtyard surrounded by modern buildings. The synagogue is unremarkable on the outside, but once you enter you will be struck by its intricately-carved wooden Aron HaKodesh, as well as by its frescoes, restored in the 2000s with donations from the US Commission for the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad. In its yard there is a midrash and a plaque celebrating the Jews who fell in the Communist resistance of 1941-1944. The synagogue usually holds services on the Sabbath and religious holidays. 

 

MONUMENT OF GRATITUDE, PLOVDIV

The white Monument of Gratitude on Tsar Kaloyan Square was erected in 1998 by local Jews. Its inscription reads in Bulgarian, Hebrew and English: "To all who helped to rescue us on 10 March 1943. From the grateful Jewish community of Plovdiv." Every year the citizens of Plovdiv gather at the monument to mark the date on which their fellow Jewish citizens were not deported. 

JEWISH CEMETERY, PLOVDIV

The old Jewish cemetery, like the cemeteries of all other minority groups in Plovdiv, was destroyed in the first years after 1878 when a new urban plan for Plovdiv was adopted. Since then Jews have used a section of the municipal cemetery. It is next to the walled-off and largely abandoned Turkish cemetery. It is unfenced and unguarded, but its north side has been protected by a brick wall, erected by Shalom, to separate it from a local Gypsy settlement. Most of the marble and granite tombstones are still standing but some have been vandalised.

ORTA MEZAR BATH HOUSE

The old Jewish Bath House is across Sixth September Boulevard, on Tsar Kaloyan Square. Erected in the 15th-16th centuries, the Orta Mezar bath house was initially used by Turks. Jews started attending it as they settled in that area of town. The building was slated for demolition as early as the 1920s but that never came to be. Elderly Jews in Plovdiv can still remember going there with their families to take a bath. The Orta Mezar bath house survived even the massive construction effort of the 1980s. Following the collapse of Communism in 1989, the local city council, whose property the building was, started renting it out to shops and businesses. Lastly, the former bath house was a furniture shop – until a fire gutted it, in 2016. Since then the charming Ottoman building has laid in ruins.