Community Centre

The Community Centre at Ivan Mažuranić Street 6 is the central place for all cultural events in Bjelovar, from films and plays to concerts and activities of music schools to various forums, lectures and other content.

It was located in a beautiful Art Nouveau building that housed the Bjelovar Synagogue from 1917 to 1951. Planning for its construction began in 1913, when about five hundred Jews lived in Bjelovar, and after initial changes in the selection of contractors, it was designed by the architect Otto Goldscheider, otherwise responsible for a number of Art Nouveau (mainly residential) buildings in the city of Zagreb.

With the inception of the Second World War, almost all Bjelovar Jews tragically perished under the terror of the fascist regime, and the synagogue was closed until 1951, when it was converted into a theater building. The dome was then removed from it as well as all religious symbols except for one large Star of David. The building was renovated again in 1989, and the most recent renovation was completed in 2021.

In addition to the refreshed look, the newly renovated Community Centre now has a seating capacity of about a hundred seats, and its auditorium can fit around 400 people, and the stage has been enlarged, the balcony has been extended, and new boxes have been built. In the process, the Star of David on the facade was also restored in order to preserve the original characteristics of the synagogue.

Today, the Community Centre is one of the most beautiful buildings in Bjelovar and home to various cultural events of the city, including the DOKUart documentary film festival, the BOK Fest theater festival, and a number of other events.