Bulgaria

JEWISH MUSEUM OF HISTORY

The only Jewish museum in Bulgaria was set up in the early 1990s, in an upstairs room in the Sofia Synagogue, which was used as a rehearsal hall for the Jewish Choral Society before the Second World War. Some of its exhibits started as early as 1968 with a permanent collection entitled "The Rescue of Bulgarian Jews 1941-1944." In 1992, the Shalom Organisation of Jews in Bulgaria transformed it into a larger exhibition focusing on the development and evolution of the Jewish communities throughout Bulgaria. A section of the one-room museum is dedicated to the Jews of Aegean Thrace and Vardar Macedonia who perished in the Holocaust. 

The museum is managed by the Bulgarian Culture Ministry. 

Jewish history in Bulgaria is displayed chronologically and feature photographs, lithographs and drawings. 

These represent many aspects of Jewish life in the Bulgarian lands, including famous people such as Sarah-Theodora, the Jewish-born queen in mediaeval Bulgaria; the first Chief Rabbi Gabriel Almosino; Col Moreno Grasiani, a Balkans War hero; young athletes from a Jewish sports club doing their exercises, and so on. 

Rimmon, end of the 19th century
Rimmon, end of the 19th century

Some of the photographs show the earliest dated Jewish artefact in Bulgaria, the tombstone of Archsynagogus Ioses, who lived in the Roman City of Oescus in the 2nd century CE, and the mosaics of the 3rd century synagogue in Plovdiv. 

The bulk of the museum's exhibition dates back to the 18th-20th centuries. These include artefacts sent to Sofia during and after the Great Aliyah by the now disappeared Jewish communities of Kazanlak, Samokov and Provadiya, among many others. 

Much of the museum collection is devoted to various Torahs, Torah mantles and shields, and other religious artefacts like exquisite Torah crowns and finials; Scrolls of Esther; Banylonian Talmud Zevahim, written in Salzbach in 1768; kiddush silver cups; rabbi caps; and a heavily embroidered tunic for Bar Mitzvah. 

Some bindalli, Sephardi women's festive clothes from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, are also noteworthy. Together with some period furniture as well as embroidered fabrics and pillows, they give a good impression of the life of urban Jewish communities at the turn of the 19th century. 

Some of the artefacts have a very strong emotional value. These include a collection of yellow stars of the sort Jews were ordered to wear during the Second World War, and archive photographs of Jews in Bulgarian forced labour camps as well as portraits of internees in the provinces. 

PILGRIMAGE SITE TO RABBI ELIEZER PAPO

In the 2000s Silistra, which once had a sizeable Jewish community, became a site of pilgrimage for Jewish travellers. Coming in their thousands throughout the year but especially in the weeks preceding Rosh Hashanah, their destination is Kapitan Krastev Street, a dusty side road that leads to the Romanian border. There, in front of a Communist-era block of flats rather incongruously called Havana, is the memorial to Rabbi Eliezer Papo, a man of many skills and vocations, who is credited, among other things, with stopping a cholera epidemic from reaching the Bulgarian lands. 

Eliezer Papo was born in Sarajevo in 1785 but settled in Silistra, where he became rabbi to the Sephardi community, in existence there since 1477. He was a truly remarkable Judaic scholar. His books include classics such as Pele Yo'ez, Elef HaMagen and Hesed La Alafim, but what made him so popular was his belief that a truly pious Jew must divest himself of all worldly pleasures. Significantly, he not only preached asceticism but also practised it, to the extent that he came to be referred to as HaKadosh, or the Saint. 

When Silistra found itself on the frontline in the 1828-1829 war between Imperi- al Russia and the Ottomans, a cholera epidemic broke out. Papo, who had also been trained in medicine, set up field hospitals to isolate the sick and prevent the decease from spreading. Unfortunately, he did not survive, but the grateful residents of Silistra erected a monument in his memory. 

The old Jewish cemetery of Silistra, where he was buried, has long since been destroyed. Papo's original tombstone is also gone, but the site opposite the Havana has a new memorial, a mikveh and a prayer room. 

REPURPOSED SYNAGOGUE IN GOTSE DELCHEV

The Jewish community of Gotse Delchev, then Nevrokop, built itself a synagogue in 1939. That red-brick building still stands near the modern bus station. As it is surrounded by small shops, it is easy to overlook unless you keep your eyes open for the distinct Judaic dome with a Star of David on top of it. 

The story of the Nevrokop synagogue is that bitter-sweet parable of how Jewish fate swung between good fortune and disaster throughout the centuries of Jewish presence in the Bulgarian lands. In the late 1940s-early 1950s the synagogue was sold to the Baruh family, the only Jews living in town. Although it was declared a monument of culture, it was turned into living quarters. Its hall was converted into two residential floors, the upper floor being an apartment while the lower floor was used as a warehouse. 

It remains so to this day. The lower level of what used to be the synagogue's hall of prayer, including the Aron HaKodesh, is full of cardboard boxes. Walk up the staircase into the apartment quarters and you will be able to see a starry sky still remaining on the inner side of the dome. It has been heavily damaged by damp and mould. The space under the dome is used as an attic. The former synagogue was delisted as a monument of culture in 2008. 

KARNOBAT ABANDONED CEMETERY

The largest Jewish necropolis in Bulgaria was created by the Jews of Karnobat, who had lived in the town since the 16th century, and of neighbouring cities who would burry their dead here. 

It used to contain over 1,000 tombstones. The earliest dates back to 1686 and the newest ones are from the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars and the First World War. 

Unless you have a knowledgeable local guide, it can be difficult to find the remnants of Karnobat's Jewish cemetery. It is situated on a slope on the outskirts of the Galata neighbourhood, whose official name is Krasno Selo. You are advised to visit in dry weather because rain and snow can make the whole ravine prohibitively muddy. 

Barking sheep dogs, some of which are kept unleashed, can also be a problem. 

Karnobat Jewish Cemetery

Once you negotiate the pitfalls and reach the ridge, you will be rewarded with a surreal sight. The whole side of the hill is covered with hundreds of large and small reclining tombstones. Years ago many of them were cleaned up when some historical research was done, but most are now overgrown with vegetation. Many cannot be seen at all, unless viewed from close up. Flocks of sheep, and sometimes pigs, will be your companions throughout. 

Some of the tombstones imitate sarcophagi, others are just slabs covering the graves. Many of the marble tombstones have been purloined by locals over the past several decades. What remains now are mostly granite and sandstone tombstones. 

Walking through them is like holding a meeting with several generations of Karnobat Jews. Brush aside the grass covering them and you will see Hebrew and Ladino epitaphs, as well as images recreating, at least partially, the life of those buried beneath. The local masons developed an intricate system of symbols to represents the sex and occupation of the dead. The graves of many women bear children's cribs, tambours and embroidery threads, while the men have scissors and hammers, parchment scrolls and ink-bottles with quills. 

Karnobat Jewish Cemetery

The peace and tranquillity of the site does not hide the fact that this is one of the most mercilessly vandalised Jewish cemeteries in Bulgaria. Having ignored it for years, the locals then started plundering its tombstones to use in the construction of sheep pens and pigsties. 

The local climate also plays a role in the general dilapidation of Karnobat's Jewish cemetery. The soil has begun to slide down towards a seasonal brook, causing some tombstones to tumble downhill, ending up in some cases several metres from the graves they used to cover. 

JEWISH WATERFOUNTAINS, SHUMEN

In the 1830s the old wooden Sephardi synagogue in Shumen became too small for the congregation. It was decided to construct a new one, but this led to a rift in the community. The more elderly wanted a simple, cheap building while the younger Jews favoured a large, modern and expensive one. Following protracted debates those who supported the expensive project gained the upper hand. The new synagogue of Shumen was officially consecrated in 1860. 

The synagogue survived for the next 130 years until its demolition in the 1990s. 

Next to nothing remains of Shumen's once rich Jewish legacy. After the Jews emigrated to Israel in the late 1940s their synagogue was used as a warehouse and then as art studios. There were projects to modernise it and convert it into a concert hall, but none ever materialised. In 1975 it was listed as a monument of culture, but the years of neglect and decay had already taken their toll. In 1995 the synagogue collapsed. 

The only remains of Shumen's synagogue are two embroidered parochets for the Aron Ha-Kodesh, donated in 1964 to the Sofia Synagogue, and two 19th century stone water fountains. These are now located at the side of the Shumen Museum of History, facing Karel Shkorpil Street.

One of them came from the yard of the synagogue, where it was placed by Gabbai Yomtov Shmuel in 1902. It bears an inscription: "To everyone thirsty for water." The second fountain used to stand beside the Jewish school and has two clasped hands carved into the stone. It was dedicated to Baron Hirsch, the great benefac- tor to Shumen's Jewry, upon his death in 1896. It says: "Every Jew is responsible for another Jew." 

JEWISH CEMETERY, SHUMEN

The largest Jewish remnant in Shumen is its cemetery. It was used in the period 1879-1964 and contains about 650 graves. 

The Jewish cemetery has been repeatedly vandalised. In 2008 some tombstones were sprayed with Nazi swastikas. About 30 stones were toppled and broken. The local police declared it was not an antisemitic attack, but just hooliganism perpetrated by youths who could not be prosecuted because they were underage. The cemetery is fenced and locked, but antisemitic signs continue to appear periodically, most recently in 2020.

ABANDONED SYNAGOGUE, SAMOKOV

In 1857-1860 the Samokov Jews built a new, modern synagogue. It was a large building, at 330 square metres, and was 8 metres tall, with 38 windows. Accounts of who built it vary. According to some archives, it was erected by Edirne workers commissioned by the wealthy Arie family. Another theory is that the synagogue was built by local craftsmen. It appears that the same builders also worked on the impressive Bayrakli Mosque, in the middle of town. 

In 1965 it was listed as a cultural monument and there were plans to convert it into a concert hall. Restoration work started but it ended abruptly as a result of a fire in 1975. 

Ignored and abandoned, the building fell into disrepair. At the beginning of the 1990s it was returned to the Shalom Organisation of Bulgarian Jews, but in 2018 the organisation transferred the property rights to Samokov City Council on the grounds that it would restore it and turn it into a culture centre. So far little has been done. 

The synagogue is currently inaccessible, at least in theory. It is cordoned off with a fence, but it is an easy matter to jump over and enter its large, derelict hall. 

An incredible, restored wood-carved ceiling with a huge Star of David hangs above your head. A faded fresco depicting the Holy Land adorns the wall, complemented by unspeakable graffiti spray-painted by locals. 

Samokov synagogue marks the location of the town's Jewish neighbourhood in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. In the following decades the abandoned temple has survived a fire, a robbery and multiple cases of vandalism.

JEWISH TOMBSTONES AT BAYRAKLI MOSQUE

The other Jewish remnants in Samokov are a few Jewish gravestones now scattered in very unlikely locations. 

You will need more concentration when you go to visit 19th century Bayrakli Mosque in the centre of town. Explore the floor of its porch carefully and you will see a number of "reused" Jewish tombstones, with inscriptions in Hebrew, Ladino and French. They were added to the mosque as late as the 1960s during renovations. 

Old Jewish tombstones were used to cover the floor of Bayrakli Mosque porch

 

ARIE HOUSE, SAMOKOV

Next to Samokov's synagogue is the Sarafska House, the smallest of the three sumptuous residences of the Aries, one of the richest of Samokov's Jewish families. It is the only old Jewish house to survive the post-Second World War modernisation. A few years after 1944 it was sold to the state and renovated, and for several decades was used by visiting Communist dignitaries. Since 1986 it has been the property of the 13th Centuries Bulgaria Foundation, the heir to a Communist fund masterminded by the daughter of erstwhile state leader Todor Zhivkov to celebrate Bulgarian culture. It is now a museum of urban culture. 

The house's wood carvings and structures have been restored, but what strikes you most is the sophisticated furniture imported later from Europe for the purposes of the museum. Some traces of its former owners remain, including some furniture bearing lions' heads, the eponym of the Arie family.