Traces of Jewish Visual Culture in Eastern Serbia and Western Bulgaria, from Ottoman Times to the Modern Period

This paper will examine questions related to Jewish visual culture in present day eastern Serbia and western Bulgaria, from Ottoman times to the modern period. It will discuss elements of Jewish heritage of larger communities, such as those of Vidin (in present day Bulgaria) and Niš (in present day Serbia), as well as of smaller communities such as those of Pirot and Knjaževac (present day Serbia). Preserved remains of synagogues, mikve, graveyards and other monuments related to the Jewish population in this area of the Balkans will be discussed from the point of view of concepts of crossing borders, migration, creating and presenting identity and memory. Relations with other migrant and diaspora communities, especially those of the Russians emigrants who found a new home in Serbia in the 1920`s, will also be a point of particular interest.