"Documents from the Revival" Collection

The National Museum of History owns a "Documents from the Revival" Collection ", which includes more than 290 museum items, thematically related to the era of the Bulgarian Revival.

The principle of the formation of the collection is the search, preservation and scientific processing of important documents of an official and personal nature, created in the Revival period of the 18th - 19th centuries, which are used in the organization of temporary exhibitions and permanent museum expositions, serve as source material for scientific publications and editions:

The documents bear witness to the life and activities of the leading Revival figures, and reflect key political and social events in the history of Bulgarians in the 18th and 19th centuries. They are of different content and time of creation within the Revival period. The focus is on the stages of the struggle of the Bulgarian people for independence - the cultural and educational movement, the struggle for an independent church and the national liberation movement.

Read the whole text

The collection includes:

– Official Ottoman documents (sultan firmans, deeds, deeds, court files, passports, files, Ottoman bonds)
– Personal documents of prominent figures of the Bulgarian Renaissance and of unknown persons (letters, telegrams, business cards, greeting cards, baptismal and marriage certificates, wills, diaries, biographies, personal notebooks and notebooks)
– Official Bulgarian documents related to the economic development of the Renaissance society in the 19th century (statutes of guild associations, commercial notebooks, notebooks with notes, receipts, receipts, inventories, appeals and petitions)
– Official Bulgarian documents related to the movement for a new Bulgarian school and secular education (textbook literature, study publications, school regulations, reports and reports, student notebooks and certificates)
– Official Bulgarian documents that reflect the political struggle for an independent Bulgarian church and the national revolutionary struggles to win freedom (printed editions of the firman for the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchy, revolutionary oaths and proclamations, protocols and publications of the Central Committee; list of victims from 1876)
- Foreign documents - personal, issued to Bulgarians and official, which reflect the events surrounding the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation 1877-1878 and the participation of the Bulgarian Militia (identity documents for travel, manifestos, militiamen's certificates and lists, schemes and documents for War of Liberation)

One of the most interesting and significant documents kept in the collection are specially made museum copies of testimonies of the activities of the leading strategists of the national revolution - Georgi Rakovski, Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev:

- Plan for the Liberation of Bulgaria by G.S. Rakovski
- Workers' Order for the Liberation of the Bulgarian People, prepared by V. Levski
- Levski's written oath
- Levski's letters to Panayot Hitov and Philip Totyu
– The personal notebook of Vasil Levski
– a page from Hristo Botev's personal notebook
– A letter from Hristo Botev from the BRCC in Bucharest

Сметководен тефтер от 1858 г., на Васил Ханчов от Тетевен, чиновник в сръбската канцелария в Цариград.

Account book from 1858, of Vasil Hanchov from Teteven

Official in the Serbian Chancellery in Constantinople.

Тетрадка с аптекарски рецепти на чешкия офицер Тоушек, живял в България малко преди и след Освобождението. Ръкопис от 136 стр. на латински, немски и чешки.

Notebook with apothecary recipes of the Czech officer Tousek

Lived in Bulgaria shortly before and after Liberation. Manuscript of 136 pp. in Latin, German and Czech.

Пълномощно на Димитър Ценович, Букурещ, 5 септември 1875 г., с печат на БРЦК, за подписване на получаваните пратки, бонове или други покани в отсъствието на касиера на БРЦК.

Power of Attorney of Dimitar Cenovich, Bucharest

September 5, 1875, with the seal of the BRCC, to sign the received shipments, bills or other invitations in the absence of the treasurer of the BRCC.

Билет – документ за самоличност на Димитър Пъшков, съосновател на Ловешкия революционен комитет. От Руското посолство в Букурещ, 21 април 1877 г.

Ticket - Dimitar Pashkov's identity document

Co-founder of the Hunting Revolutionary Committee. From the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, April 21, 1877.

Кръщелно свидетелство, издадено от православен храм “Св. Никола”

Baptismal certificate issued by the Orthodox Church "St. Nicholas"

Razgrad on October 13, 1876.

Опис на пощенски пратки до данъчни управления и служби в Шумен, Варна, Нови пазар, Провадия, Котел и др., ръкопис на османо-турски – арабица и лични печати и печати на пощата на Шумен, около 1878 г.

Inventory of postal items to tax offices and offices in Shumen, Varna, Novi Pazar, Provadia, Kotel, etc.,

Manuscript in Ottoman Turkish - Arabic and Personal Seals and Seals of the Shumen Post Office, circa 1878.

Тапия за наследяване на земя в местността „Куриите”

Deed for inheritance of land in the "Kuriite" area

Sofia from 1875. Form with a manuscript in Ottoman-Turkish, Arabic, with the tugra (sign) of Sultan Abdul Aziz.

Кръщелни свидетелства от Ловчанска епископия, църква „Всех светии”, 15 октомври 1870 г. и от Тетевен, църква „Св. Атанас”, 1874 г.

Baptismal certificates

From the Bishopric of Lovchan, church "All Saints", October 15, 1870 and from Teteven, church "St. Athanasius", 1874

Обръщение до общината в Орхание, с подписи и лични печати на 17 общинари от Оряхово, 17 май 1867 г.

Address to the municipality of Orhanie

With signatures and personal seals of 17 municipal officials from Oryahovo, May 17, 1867.

Устав на златарския и медникарския еснафи в град Самоков, с подписи на майсторите, разположени в две колони

Statute of the goldsmith's and coppersmith's guilds in the town of Samokov

With signatures of the masters located in two columns.

Паспорт (тескере за местопребиваване) на арменеца Томас син на Богос. Документът е използван от Марин поп Луканов при бягството му от Диарбекир 1876 г.

Passport (tesquere for residence) of the Armenian Thomas son of Bogos

The document was used by Marin Pope Lukanov during his escape from Diyarbekir in 1876.