Plovdiv Synagogue

Zion Plovdiv Synagogue

The Synagogue in Plovdiv

The Synagogue in Plovdiv
Basic information
Location Bulgaria Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Geographic coordinates 42°9′2″N 24°44′27″E / 42.15056°N 24.74083°E / 42.15056; 24.74083Coordinates: 42°9′2″N 24°44′27″E / 42.15056°N 24.74083°E / 42.15056; 24.74083
Rite Sephardi Jews
Region Romaniote
Ecclesiastical or organizational status active
Architectural description
Architectural style Ottoman
Completed 1892[1]

The Zion Plovdiv Synagogue is a synagogue in the city of Plovdiv located in Bulgaria. This synagogue is one of the only 2 synagogues that remain active to this day in Bulgaria (with the Sofia Synagogue).

History

According to the archaeological research a Synagogue had been constructed in ancient Philippopolis dating back to the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus in the first half of 3rd century AD.[2] It is followed by several renovations, the last one – from the beginning of 5th century (M. Martinova).[3] In 1360, when the city was conquered by the Turks certain Jews who emigrated from Aragon in 1492 settled in Philippopolis and built a synagogue called "K. K. Aragon," which was standing in 1540, but is no longer in existence. In 1892[1] following Bulgaria liberation from Ottoman domination in 1878 one of the first synagogues to be erected was the (Zion) Synagogue in Plovdiv. It was built in the remnants of a small courtyard in what was once a large Jewish quarter called Orta Mezar during the Turkish rule. The location of the Sephardic synagogue is now called Tsar Kaloyan Street 13. Before the Second World War, the Jewish quarter had a population of 7000.[4] The Synagogue is one of the best-preserved examples of the so-called "Ottoman-style" synagogues in the Balkans. According to author Ruth E. Gruber, the interior is a "hidden treasure…a glorious, if run-down, burst of color." An exquisite Venetian glass chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling, which has a richly painted dome. All surfaces are covered in elaborate, Moorish-style, geometric designs in once-bright greens and blues. Torah scrolls are kept in the gilded Aron-ha-Kodesh.[5]

In 1904 the Jewish community possessed three other synagogues: Jeshurun, built in 1710 according to the inscription on a marble slab in the synagogue; Ahabat-Shalom, built in 1880; Shebeṭ Aḥim or Mafṭirim, founded in 1882 by emigrants from Karlovo, whence the Jews fled during the Turko-Russian war (1877-1878).[1]

Rabbis

Since the end of the eighteenth century the following have been chief rabbis of the city:

Legacy

Nowadays, the Jewish community in Bulgaria is very small (863 in 1994)[4] because of the Holocaust, secularity of the local Jewish population due to many years of communism and subsequent Aliya (Jewish immigration to Israel).

In 1994 the synagogue was mostly inactive.[4] but the community is undergoing a revival [7] In 2003 the synagogue was restored. The city's mayor, the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to Bulgaria, were present at its inauguration. The funding for the restoration of the 19th-century Zion Synagogue. was raised by the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad (USD 26,000) [8] and the London-based Hanadiv Charitable Foundation.[9]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Synagogue in Plovdiv.
  1. 1 2 3 4  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "PHILIPPOPOLIS". Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Hazan, Elko Z. "Synagogues in Bulgaria: A testimony of eighteen centuries of Jewish presence in the Balkans" (PDF). Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Synagogue (Plovdiv)".
  4. 1 2 3 Natasha Singer (06-03-1994). "Unearthing Bulgarian Jewry in Communism's Rubble.". Forward. Retrieved 3 January 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ↑ "Synagogue of Plovdiv, Bulgaria". Heritageabroad.gov. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on September 7, 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Paldiel, Mordecai (2006). Churches and the Holocaust : unholy teaching, good samaritans, and reconciliation. Jersey City, NJ: Ktav. p. 308. ISBN 088125908X.
  7. ↑ Astaire, Libi. "Unlocking Plovdiv's Past" (PDF). MISHPACHA. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Synagogue of Plovdiv, Bulgaria". Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "News at a Glance". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. December 11, 2003. Retrieved 3 January 2013.(subscription required)
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