Sofia  - Two decades ago, Jews could not have traditional Jewish weddings in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, because there was no mikwa, the place for ritualistic purifying baths of women and men. So Jews who wanted to marry according to tradition mostly travelled abroad for their ceremony.

But today, the freshly renovated, magnificent synagogue has all it needs, including the mikwa, so it can serve as the hub of the invigorated Jewish community in Sofia and Bulgaria.

The building, designed in the Spanish-Moorish style, but with signs of the group of Austrian artists known as the Viennese Secession, was designed by the famous Austrian architect, Friedrich Gruenanger, and opened on September 9, 1909. Gruenanger also created the royal palace in Sofia.

When he arrived in Sofia for the renovations, he brought with him a 2-ton chandelier and the massive brass menorah - the seven- branched candelabrum - which Sofia's Jewish community had commissioned from masters in Vienna.

Seating 1,170, the temple in Sofia's "Little Jerusalem" sits near many churches and a mosque and is the second-largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, second only to the one in Amsterdam.

Sephards are Jews originating from the Iberian peninsula and northern Africa. Many of those strewn across Europe are descendants of Jews expelled from today's Spain and Portugal in the 15th century.

During World War II, when Bulgaria sided with Hitler's Germany, but refused to hand over its 50,000 Jews for extermination, the synagogue was damaged by Allied bombs. Now fully restored - the 750,000-leva (550,000-dollar) bill was footed by the Bulgarian government - the synagogue is ready for the centennial celebration.

"It is now Europe's most beautiful synagogue," claims Robert Djerasi, the head of the Jewish Community in Bulgaria which now has almost 7,000 members. As elsewhere, the Sofia synagogue is at the heart of the Jewish community, he explains.

The growing attendance at services, along with the increased practice of ceremonies like brit milah, bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah - the rituals of circumcision and coming of age for boys and girls - indicates a return to faith after it was discouraged under Communism.

Babies born when Todor Zhivkov's strongman regime was falling in late 1989 are now turning 20. The Jews among them are the first generation freely raised according to tradition.

"In that time we had to learn all over how to be Jews," Djerasi says, adding that it is time for a boom in Jewish marriages as the babies of the change became adults.

Many older Jews are particularly excited when a Jewish emigre who left during the Communist era returns. Often the returnees are children of the emigrants, coming back either as tourists or entrepreneurs.

"The restored synagogue rounds up Sofia's touristic map," Djerasi says.

Near the synagogue is a kosher cafe, Coffee Time, with everything on the menu in accordance with strict Jewish rules on food and drink. So far, it is the only one in Bulgaria.

"Many have waited for this a long time," says the owner, 32-year-old Shlomo Goldenberg, revealing that he plans to launch another cafe soon, with food and beverages prepared with ingredients imported from France, Hungary and, naturally, Israel. (dpa)