The Bulgarian Historical Archive (Bulgarian: Български исторически архив) functions as part of the

SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library The SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (Национална библиотека „Свети Свети Кирил и Методий“) is the national library of Bulgaria, situated in the capital city of Sofia. Founded on 4 April 187 ...

and keeps more than 1.5 million documents and a separate collection "Portraits and Photos" consisting of 80,000 photos all of historical importance for

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

History

The archive is one of the earliest historical document repositories in Bulgaria. It was established in 1878, just after the Bulgarian Liberation and was then known as the Archives Department of the library. Until the establishment of the State Archive Fund in 1951 it functioned as a national archive.

The greatest number of documents come from the period middle 19th century to middle 20th century representing the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

and post-

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

period of

Bulgarian history The history of Bulgaria can be traced from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state, and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The earliest evidence of hominid occupation d ...

. Also covered in great detail are the Bulgarian liberation struggles in Macedonia and the

Odrin Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

region after the Liberation. Some of the most notable specimens of the archive are: *the pocket notebook of

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed th ...

*the pocket notebook of

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev ( bg, Христо Ботев, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and nationa ...

*a fragment of a parchment with Greek minuscule script from the 11th century, the oldest manuscript in the archive

External links

Official web page of the archive

Historiography of Bulgaria Archives in Bulgaria {{Library-stub

History

Contents

External links