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Bulgaria in World War II8. Famous Bulgarians
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Cernorizec Hrabri monk Mi 405 |
Cernorizec Hrabri,
monk, Bulgarian middle age writer from the 9th-10th century. Member of
a literary circle in Preslav that translated texts by Byzantine theologians
to Bulgarian. Some historians belive Hrabri was a pseudonym for none other
than Tsar Simeon the Great himself (864-927).
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Father Paisi (*1722) Mi 216 |
Father Paisi, monk
from Hilendar monastery on Athos mountain. Paisi was born in Bansko in
1722 and came to Hilendar in 1745. As a monk he travelled a lot on official
business for the monastery, and achieved good insight in the living conditions
of ordinary people in the Bulgarian. In the 1760's he combined this insight
with the history of former Bulgarian days of glory to write the very popular
history work
'A Slavonic-Bulgarian History of Peoples, Tsars, Saints,
and of all their Deeds and of the Bulgarian Way of Life.'
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Archbishop Sofroni Vrachenski (1729-1815) Mi 402 |
Sofroni Vrachenski (1729-1815),
archbishop in Kotel. The first printed book to be published in Bulgarian
is generally agreed to be Vrachenski's collection of sermons, Nedelnik
(Bucurest
1806). In 1765 he met Father Paisi, and was so impressed by his History
that he had it copied and placed in his own church.
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Marin S. Drinov (1838-1906) historian Mi 404 |
The first printed version
of Father Paisi's famous work of history was published anonymously in Budapest
in 1844. Marin Drinov (1838-1906), Bulgaria's first modern professional
historian, was the first to formally identify Paisi as the author in 1871.
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K. Miladinov (1830-62) Mi 213 |
Konstantin Miladinov
(1830-62) collected Bulgarian folk songs together with his brother Dimiter
(1810-62). The work of collecting was primarily done by Dimiter in 1854-60,
while Konstantin got the folk songs published in Zagreb in 1861. Intrigues
by the greek priesthood, however, caused Dimiter to be imprisoned by the
Turks. Konstantin was also thrown in jail, where they both lost their lives.
Their work ’Bulgarian folk songs’ has had great importance
for the development of the Bulgarian national feeling.
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Ivan Vazov (1850-1921) writer Mi 148 |
Ivan Vazov (1850-1921), Bulgarian writer. In 1874 he joined the struggle for his country's liberation, and had to flee after the unsuccessful April uprising in 1876. He serviced in the Russian army in the Russian-Turkish war 1877-78 and returned together with the Russian liberators in 1878. Under Stambulov's dictatorship he lived in exile in Odessa 1887-89. In a number of collections of poems from the 1870's and onwards he praises his country's nature and country life, and describes the people's suffering under the Turkish yoke and their thirst for liberty. From the 1880's Vazov also turned towards the prose and wrote a number of realisic stories from country life and liberation war. His main work, which earned him European fame, is the novel 'Under the yoke' (1888), which portrays the tragic uprising against the Turks in 1876. Vazov is honoured as Bulgaria's national writer, and has had large influence on the literary development of the coutry. |
Petko R. Slavejkov (1827-95) writer Mi 401 |
Petko Slavejkov (1827-95),
Bulgarian writer who collected and published a vast material of Bulgarian
popular poetry. The best of his lyrics and his epic poems are related to
the popular poetry, and is strongly marked by his patriotism. Slavejkov
was the first prominent Bulgarian lyric poet in modern times, and has had
large influence on the development of the Bulgarian literary language.
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Rila Monastery
Rila monastery Mi 560 |
St. Ivan Rilski (876-946) Mi 559 |
Monastery front Mi 561 |
| The holy Ivan Rilski (876-946), Bulgaria's National Saint, is believed to be the founder of the Rila Monastery. The monastery is built near the place where Rilski lived as a hermit in the 10th century. The monastery fell into decline after the Ottoman occupation, but received an enormous boost in 1469 when the remains of Rilski were brought back from Tarnovo. After a disastrous fire in 1833 the monastery was rebuilt with guild funds. The many historical and architectural monuments in Rila Monastery include the Hrelyo tower from 1335, the five-domed Birth of the Blessed Virgin Church and the original monastery kitchens from the 19th century. Rila Monastery is included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage. |
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