When we were in Vidin Bulgaria, we were brought to Baba Vida a medieval castle right in the town. It was the town’s primary landmark. It consists of two concentric curtain walls and 9 towers of which three are preserved to their full medieval height, including the original battlements. It is the only entirely preserved medieval castle in Bulgaria. I am not sure why but there is no water in the moat now, though historically it was filled with water.
Construction began on the castle in the 10th century A.D. on the site of an earlier Roman castle at Bononia. This castle, like Bran castle has attracted a legend, or should we say conspiracy theory. According to legend, a Danubian Bulgarian king who ruled at Vidin had three daughters: Vida, Kula and Gamza. Prior to his death, he divided his realm among the three daughters. Vida, the eldest, was given Vidin and the lands north to the Carpathians while Kula was awarded Zajecar and the Timok Valley and the third daughter Gamza was given the land to the west up to Morava. Both Gamza and Kula did not marry wisely. They married drunken bums who had a nasty proclivity for war. The name of Vida’s castle is Baba Vida, which as anyone who knows a little bit of Ukrainian knows means Granny Vida.
So this is the castle that has survived. It was the main defensive fortress of Bulgaria during all of the Middle Ages. The castle withstood an 8-month siege by Byzantine forces led by Basil II. During the rule of Tsar Ivan Sratsimir (1356-1369) it was modernized and enlarged and served as his capital. The Hungarians took it over, by force of course, from 1365 to 1369, so their reign was brief. Ivan Sratsimir regained it in 1369 but Hungarians still ruled. In time of course, the Ottomans took control during their reign which lasted about 500 years.
In the town of Vidin, we learned as we drove through it on our bus, that only 18 Jews are left in the city, even though there was a very large synagogue. It was built years ago when there were many Jews in the city. As we know, many Jews were murdered during the Second World War when Bulgaria was occupied by Nazi Germany. Many had to flee or were captured and sent to concentration camps. No one talked about the concentration camps but I did find out about them. More on that later.
Our local guide was very proud that the synagogue was now a cultural centre. She was also proud that now within the city in about 1 small block, there was a mosque, a church, and a synagogue and all the people from all 3 religions now got along well. Apparently, their religious leaders frequently meet to have coffee together and discuss issues of the day. In Vidin now there is tolerance and pluralism. People believe in the idea of “live and let live.” Each community is free to worship as they see fit without any harassment from any other religion.
That’s the way it is now, but it was not always like that. More on that later.