Herman e Karel Skorpil, museo archeologico, Varna, Bulgaria

Václav Hermenegild Škorpil ( bg, Вацлав Херменгилд Шкорпил; 8 February 185825 June 1923) was a Czech- Bulgarian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and museum worker credited along with his brother

Karel Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

with the establishment of those two disciplines in Bulgaria, as well as a geologist,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, architect and librarian. Born in the city of Vysoké Mýto (then ''Hohenmauth'' in Austria-Hungary, now part of Ústí nad Orlicí District, Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic) on 8 February 1858, he finished high school in Chrudim and

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

and graduated from the Technical University in Prague and in natural sciences from the University of Leipzig. From 1880 to 1906 he was a teacher at various Bulgarian cities:

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, Sofia, Sliven, Rousse and Varna, teaching natural history, geography, zoology, botany, arithmetic and the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

. He was the author of the first

geologic map A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with st ...

of Southern Bulgaria. In 1884, he founded a museum in Sliven, as well as a museum of natural sciences in Rousse in 1902. From 1906 to his death, he was the curator of the

Varna Archaeological Museum The Varna Archaeological Museum ( bg, Варненски археологически музей, ''Varnenski arheologicheski muzey'') is an archaeological museum in the city of Varna on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. Founded on 3 June 1888, wh ...

. He died in the city where he spent much of his life with his brother, the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast port of Varna, on 25 June 1923. He was buried in an area near the city where he had unearthed an early

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

basilica. All research by the Škorpil brothers was self-funded and all unearthed monuments have been preserved in Bulgaria. A street in Varna where their house is located and the Black Sea village and seaside resort Shkorpilovtsi were named after the brothers. Their hometown Vysoké Mýto is also a

twin town A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

of Varna.

Major works

* ''Monuments across Bulgaria'' (1888, co-author) * ''Primitive people in Bulgaria'' (1896) * ''Mounds'' (1898, co-author) * '' Władysław Warneńczyk'' (1923, co-author)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skorpil, Hermann Bulgarian archaeologists 20th-century Bulgarian historians Bulgarian architects 1858 births 1923 deaths People from Vysoké Mýto People from Varna, Bulgaria Charles University alumni Leipzig University alumni Bulgarian people of Czech descent Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Bulgarian cartographers