The Vidin Synagogue (Bulgarian: Видинска синагога, Vidinska sinagoga), currently functioning as the Jules Pascin Cultural Centre, is a former Sephardic Jewish synagogue and national monument of culture in Vidin, northwest Bulgaria. Completed in 1894 and situated in the Kaleto neighbourhood next to the Baba Vida castle and the banks of the Danube, it used to be the second-largest synagogue in Bulgaria after the Sofia Synagogue.[1]
The synagogue's construction was funded by merchants from the local Jewish community. It was designed by V. Kitov in an eclectic style featuring a large facade arche and four corner towers, as inspired by the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest.[2] Its architecture combines Jugendstil, Neo-Romantic and Neoclassical influences.[3] The altar was built by Vidin-based Czech sculptor Max Werich. Lighting was delivered from Vienna and timber was sourced from Transylvania and Hungary. The synagogue measures 36.5by, with a maximum height of 21m (69feet).[4]
After the aliyah of the Vidin Jews in the 1950s, the synagogue was left derelict and it was even used as a theatre decoration warehouse. An earthquake in 1976 damaged the building.[3] The Bulgarian government initiated its reconstruction as a concert hall in 1983. However, the project was abandoned with the fall of the communist regime in 1989, leaving the synagogue without a roof.[2] [4] [5]
The former synagogue was added to the World Monuments Watch in 2004. In 2017, the Bulgarian Jewish community transferred ownership to the Vidin municipality and in May 2021, ground was broken for the synagogue's full reconstruction using EU and national funds.[2] On 4 September 2023, the former synagogue reopened as a museum and multi-purpose cultural centre dedicated to the Vidin-born Jewish painter Jules Pascin (1885–1930).[1] The opening ceremony was attended by Bulgarian president Rumen Radev.[6]