At the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish community of Sofia (led by Rabbi Doctor Ehrenpreis and community president Ezra Solom) collected donations and invited the Viennese architect Friedrich Grünanger to prepare the synagogue project. You can see the names of the 10 "main sponsors" on the left wall at the entrance. In just 4 years, the architect managed to organize and complete the construction. Tombstones from the old Jewish cemetery were used to build the synagogue’s foundation. The cost of its construction amounted to 437,000 gold leva.

The building of the Central Sofia Synagogue was erected on the site of a previously existing synagogue, known by the Jewish name “Ahava ve Chesed” (Love and Kindness), whose last rabbi was Mossonaci Uziel.

The synagogue, one of Sofia’s architectural monuments, is located in the very center of the city near the Central Market and accommodates 1,300 worshippers. The main chandelier of the Sofia Synagogue weighs 1.7 tons and is the largest in the country.

The architectural style of the building is Moorish Revival with elements of Viennese Secession, and the facade features Venetian architecture. The main hall has a diameter of 20 meters and a height of 31 meters. It is crowned with an octagonal dome. The interior is richly decorated with Carrara marble columns and multicolored Venetian mosaics, as well as decorative wood carving. The total area of the building is 659 m². It houses the largest chandelier in the Balkans, and, according to rumors, it is made from gold from Ancient Palestine.

According to Bulgarian traditions for Sephardic synagogues, a large courtyard is arranged in front of the entrance. The synagogue was built on a rectangular plan with a central dome and a vestibule/entrance hall. The main sanctuary has an octagonal shape, with four half-domes in the pointed corners and rectangular spaces between them. All are separated from the sanctuary by arches that serve as supports for the women’s section.

The altar ("Aron HaKodesh") stands on a pedestal of white marble, surrounded by exquisite railings. The main prayer hall is designed for 1,170 seats, and above it rises an octagonal dome housing a huge chandelier. This hall has a diameter of 20 meters and an overall height of 31 meters. It was designed to harmonize with four small domes at the fluted corners and eight small towers with dome-shaped roofs. The interior was richly decorated with multicolored Venetian mosaics, Carrara marble columns, and numerous decorative carved elements and walls. The chairs are made of Slavonian oak from the forests of Serbia. The architect strictly adhered to Jewish law and traditions. They do not depict human faces, and the ceiling is painted to symbolize the heavens. Metal grates are embedded in the floors of the central and southern aisles, under which was a winter heating system. Warm air from a lit stove came out from there. On the roof in front of the synagogue entrance, two towers are visible; these are chimneys for floor heating.

The facade of the synagogue is executed in an eclectic style—a combination of Moorish and Venetian styles. The building occupies an area of 659 square meters, with a total built-up area of 1,000 m². The interior height of the dome is 23 meters, and its diameter is 19 meters. The total height of the synagogue from the sidewalk to the top of the dome is 31 meters. The room has excellent acoustics.

In his book in Ladino (the old Spanish Jewish dialect) "Notas Históricas" (Historical Notes), historian Avraham Tajer describes the synagogue’s opening as follows: "September 9, 1909, will become a historic day for Bulgarian Jews. On this day, the Sofia Synagogue was opened. This is not only a great celebration for the Jews of the capital but also a day when the prestige of Bulgarian Jews was raised. With the opening of the Sofia Synagogue, respect for the Jewish community and all Bulgarian Jewry greatly increased. All shops were closed as on a holiday, and all the Bulgarian population greeted the sons of Israel on the occasion of the solemn opening of the synagogue."

Architect Grünanger embodied Jewish symbolism in the synagogue, mainly based on the number 8. Eight is a number with important symbolic meaning in Judaism. On the eighth day, a boy is circumcised, given a name, and becomes a member of the community. The flame of the menorah also burned for eight days in the temple after its rededication at the end of the Maccabean revolt against the ruling Seleucid dynasty in 168 BCE.

The first symbol is located on the central chandelier. The latter was made in Vienna from brass according to Friedrich Grünanger’s design. It weighs 1,700 kg. Around its perimeter are about 400 six-pointed star lamps, and in the center is a smaller chandelier and a circle of lamps around it. Each lamp in the circle and the small chandelier in the center repeat the shape of the large chandelier. The number of lamps around the perimeter of the large and small chandeliers, as well as around the circle of lamps, equals eight. All lamps hanging from the balcony are reduced copies of the large chandelier. The upper parts of the chandeliers and small lamps are shaped like crowns. The crown is a symbolic representation of the Torah (Pentateuch).

The second symbol with the number 8 is found on the Venetian mosaic floor. The ornament used is an octagonal star, with an eight-petaled flower in the center.

The synagogue, built for the needs of the Sephardic Jewish community of Bulgaria’s capital according to the project of Austrian architect Friedrich Grünanger, resembles the old Moorish temple Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna and was officially opened on September 9, 1909, in the presence of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. The first preparations for the synagogue’s construction date back to 1903, and the construction itself began on November 13, 1905. The construction of the large new synagogue was part of efforts to reorganize the Bulgarian Jewish community under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Markus Ehrenpreis, a native of Lemberg, and local leaders Ezra Tajer and Avram Davidjon Levi. Before the new synagogue was built, the site in the center of Sofia was occupied by the old synagogue.

The opening took place in the presence of Bulgarian King Ferdinand, his wife Eleonora, Prime Minister Malinov, Metropolitan Parteniy, various ministers, and diplomats.

During World War II, Sofia and other cities were bombed. On April 13, 1944, a bomb fell on the northeast corner of the synagogue but did not explode. The corner sustained some damage, and due to the vibration caused by the bomb’s explosion, beautiful stained glass windows were broken. Professor Gredi Assa decorated the balcony with a stained glass window as a reminder of this event.

In 1956, the synagogue was declared a cultural monument of national significance. During socialism, in 1982, the Minister of Culture attempted to convert the synagogue into a concert hall. The synagogue’s leadership showed courage and resisted, and the government accepted this refusal.

Today, since the Jewish community in Sofia is small, the balcony is not used, and services are usually attended by 50 to 60 worshippers due to the aliyah of most Bulgarian Jews to Israel and the secularism of the local Jewish population. Services in the large hall are held only during major Jewish holidays and other events. It has about 400 seats; the left half is designated for women, and the right for men. Daily prayers are held in a small prayer room (midrash) to the right of the entrance.

Since May 8, 1992, the Jewish Historical Museum has also been located in the Sofia Synagogue, featuring exhibitions dedicated to Jewish communities in Bulgaria, the Holocaust, and the rescue of Jews in Bulgaria. There is also a souvenir shop.

Sources:

https://religiana.com/sofia-synagogue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Synagogue