Historical Timeline for Jews in Bulgaria:
Early Jewish Presence:
- Romaniote Jews in Bulgaria before 1396 Ottoman conquest
- Ashkenazi refugees from Bavaria arrived in 1470
- Sephardim settled in early 16th century
Bulgarian Independence and Jewish Rights:
- 1878: Bulgaria gains independence from Ottoman Empire. Jews granted equal rights
- 1909: Large synagogue consecrated in Sofia
20th Century Developments:
- 1920-1934: Jewish population growth from 16,000 to 48,565
- World War II: Bulgarian government’s mixed approach to Jewish protection
- Post-war: Significant Jewish emigration, especially to Israel
Genealogical Resources for Bulgarian Sephardic Jews
Archives and Records:
- Bulgaria State Archives
- Ottoman records and Sharia court records
- Jewish Community of Bulgaria archives project
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People – Bulgarian Jews
- The Oriental Collections Department of St. Cyril and Methodius National Library is the world’s third largest archive of Ottoman documents
An overview of different archives in Bulgaria.
Books and Publications:
- Die Protokollbücher des Kadiamtes Sofia bearbeitet [Edited Protocol Book of the Sofia’s Kadi’s Office] by Galab D. Galabov and Herbert W. Duda is a 462 page and indexed German translation of a key source from Ottoman rule in Bulgaria.
- A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames in Bulgaria: A Window on Its History by Mathilde Tagger. The link takes you to other sources on Jews in Bulgaria.
- Les Juifs espagnols en Bulgarie by Paul Mézan, 1925
- Dr Zvi Keren has written several books on Jews in Bulgaria, including Studies of Jewish Life in Bulgaria: From the 16th to the 20th century.
Online Resources on Jewish Bulgaria:
- The Bulgarian Jews website (Hebrew).
- Shalom Organization of Jews in Bulgaria
- Bulgarian Jewish Heritage Alliance of America
Vital Records:
- Civil registration of Births and Deaths (introduced 1891, mandatory 1898). Link.
- Today Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates are issued by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice and municipal civil registration offices (Матричен отдел).
- Bulgarian Census records. Censuses were conducted in Bulgaria in 1880, 1887, 1892, 1900, 1905, 1910, 1920, 1926, 1934, and 1946. The 1880 census was under Ottoman rule.
Directories and Census Records:
- Алманах царство България / Bulgarisches Staatsadressbuch [Bulgarian State Address Book]. 1917. Leipzig: Dr. Iwan Parlapanoff & Co.
- Алманах царство България / Bulgarisches Staatsadressbuch [Bulgarian State Address Book]. 1919. Leipzig: Dr. Iwan Parlapanoff & Co.
- Le Guide Sam – Bulgarie, 1922
Other Resources for Researching Jewish Family History in Bulgaria
- List of Jewish names in Bulgarian
- Moscona, I.: “The origin of the Jewish Bulgarian Names” (1967)
- Genealogy of the Nisim family
- Bulgaria Finding Aid of the AIU
Dr Joseph Benatov leads tours to the Jewish Balkans, including Bulgaria.
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