The Pazardzhik History Museum (Bulgarian: Регионален исторически музей – Пазарджик) is a history museum in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. It is located at 15 Konstantin Velichkov Square.
History of the museum
Stefan Zahariev was the first to realize the need to study and preserve the history of the homeland. As the bishop’s deputy of the Plovdiv metropolitan in the Tatar-Pazardzhik kaaza and a representative of the church community in the city, he visited 113 settlements and carefully collected valuable information of historical and ethnographic nature, summarizing them in his work “Geographical-Historical-Statistical Description of Tatar- The Pazardzhik Kaaza with a Charter and a Table of Various Old Monuments ”, printed in 1870 in Vienna. Zahariev created a significant collection of coins, archeological monuments, church manuscripts and documents at the Videlina Chitalishte.
The first decision to establish a museum at the community center “Videlina” was taken at a general meeting of the board of trustees on July 22, 1907 at the suggestion of Ilion Stamboliev. It is clear from the protocol that the Chitalishte already has a designated room for a museum and some objects are even on display. However, the beginning of 1907 remained without significant results mainly due to lack of funds.
On January 28, 1911, the 16th ONS passed the Antiquities Act. On February 24, the Chitalishte again decided to “tour the beginning of the museum” and appointed Dr. Il as curator. Матакиев. In several consecutive meetings in December, the Chitalishte statute was amended, adding a new art. 3, according to which the museum is regulated.
On December 13, 1911, the museum in Pazardzhik officially began its activities. During the wars (1912-1918) the active cultural activity of the Chitalishte stopped, and the curator Dr. Matakiev participated in all three wars as a military doctor.
In the first post-war years there was a rise in the development of museum work in Pazardzhik. In 1923 the Chitalishte activist Ivan Voyvodov donated to the Chitalishte “Videlina” his personal library of 741 books and his numismatic collection of 316 coins.
A commission was formed to prepare the statute of the Archaeological Society, which was adopted on March 23, 1924. According to him, the Archaeological Society is called “Besapara” and the museum – “Ivan Voyvodov”. Iv was elected chairman of the company. Voyvodov, and for the curator of the museum – Todor Mumdzhiev.
On June 16, 1924, on the Chitalishte holiday “St. Duh ”, at a citywide celebration, in one of the rooms of the community center was opened the exposition of the museum“ Ivan Voyvodov ”. The museum’s funds include thousands of documentary and material monuments, many of them unique, on the basis of which the exposition of the General National Museum was later built. Archaeological, ethnographic, historical, geographical studies are often provided to established specialists in their field. For scientific purposes, the museum is visited by water Bulgarian scientists – Prof. G. Katsarov, Prof. B. Filov, Prof. Dr. Iv. Velkov et al., Who publish at home and abroad the cultural monuments received for storage in the collections.
The more interesting newly discovered museum antiquities are published in the local press under the title “Archaeological News” and “Museum Antiquities”. Only a year after taking over the management of the museum, Konstantin Hristovich managed to enrich it with about 1,400 antiquities, of which over 1,100 coins and banknotes. Of interest are the votive tablets of Asclepius from the still unexplored sanctuary at the Hajdushko well near the village of Batkun, an exquisite marble head of a goddess from the village of Blatnitsa, marble votive tablets of the Thracian horseman from the village of Kalugerovo and from the village of Malog Korarets, old bronze a medal from the village of Hadjievo to a winner of the Olympic Games in ancient Plovdiv, a long iron Thracian sword from the Hisarya area near the village of Tsar Asen, a goldsmith’s chest with many drawers, donated by Elena Lulcheva and a number of books.
In June 1936, Konstantin Hristovich and Dimitar Tsonchev – director of the Plovdiv Museum and Library, made a tour of the slopes of the Rhodopes, registering several Thracian sanctuaries and monuments related to the religion of the Thracians. They visit the medieval fortress of Batkunion and offer it to the National Archaeological Museum and the Ministry of Public Education for research. Collect information about the monastery “St. Peter and Paul “, data on the life and work of Stanislav Dospevski – painted in the monastery, the activities of Vasil Levski and the hiding place in the monastery dungeons, where he met with members of local committees.
Before 1936, after renovation, the museum was moved to a spacious hall on the second floor of the community center “Videlina”.
In 1937, thanks to generous civic donations, the assistance of the city and district government, the curator enriched the museum with valuable antiquities for science. The collections include archeological finds, numismatic collections, weapons, jewelry, sahans, baskets, trays, vessels, notebooks for craft associations, medals, photographs, portraits, paintings. Against the background of this diversity, the unique coin treasure from the village of Velichkovo stands out, the only one so far in the world in terms of its content. These are 10 silver coins from the Thracian tribe Deroni, dating from the 5th century BC. As a result of the efforts of Prof. Todor Gerasimov, it became available to science, as the Deroni tribe is unknown from other historical sources.
In 1938 the Ivan Voyvodov Museum had the following departments: Archaeological, Numismatic, Ethnographic, Revival and Art. Spend the amount of BGN 10,000 received as assistance from the Archaeological Institute in Sofia, Popular Bank and the City Municipality. The room turns out to be inconvenient for the constantly growing fund.
The beginning of systematic archeological excavations in the Pazardzhik region by Vasil Mikov from the Archaeological Institute and Museum at BAS-Sofia and Dimitar Tsonchev, director of the National Library and Museum – Plovdiv.
On September 7, 1939, V. Mikov undertook excavations of the settlement mound near the village of Yunatsite. Initially working with 18 people for 23 days. He established that the mound was inhabited during 5 epochs and determined that of all the settlement mounds in Bulgaria it was of the greatest interest. At the same time, by order of the Minister of Public Education and funds from the Plovdiv Region Fund, D. Tsonchev for a week excavated the Thracian settlement of Asclepius Zimidrenski from the II-IV century at the Haidushko well near the village of Batkun.
K. Hristovich continues to insist orally and in writing in the local press, to the public, the Chitalishte Board, the municipality, the National Archaeological Museums in Sofia and Plovdiv, as well as to the ministries for “granting a special room adapted for ordering and exhibiting our valuable museum collections” . He is aware that the reconstruction of the Nenova House and the arrangement of a modern museum exceed the capabilities of Videlina Chitalishte and suggests to the above-mentioned institutions: “Our Chitalishte Museum” should be transferred and become the property of the City Municipality itself. Only then can we have a tidy city museum.
K. Hristovich proposed from the beginning of 1943 to the museum to appoint a paid museum official – Vlado Fuchalov, former librarian of the Chitalishte library… “highly cultured and very familiar with museum work” who under my guidance to arrange and arrange, meet and send the visitors of the museum ”.
During the change on September 9, 1944, the Archaeological Museum “Iv. Voyvodov ”at Videlina Chitalishte has five departments: General Archaeological, Geographical-Natural and Agricultural, Ethnographic, Artistic and City Archives. The curator reports that since October it has been housed in a small community center hall of about 50 square meters, adjacent to the wall and looks like a “waste shop”. The annual budget is BGN 8-10 thousand in the form of grants granted by the Chitalishte and the City Municipality. The positions of curator and assistant curator are free of charge.
On October 1, 1946, a new museum exposition was opened in the house of Yordan Nenov, donated by his daughter. The collections are presented – antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the April Uprising, numismatics, the city archives and crafts, as a separate corner for Konstantin Velichkov and the old Pazardzhik. Several paintings with subjects from the old Pazardzhik are presented in the museum, and the others remain in a special hall in the community center, designated as a permanent art gallery, which will bear the name of Stanislav Dospevski.
The Chitalishte character of the museum does not allow it to develop at the pace of the then museum work in the country. This happened later with the nationalization of the more significant museum collections, among which is the museum at the community center “Videlina” – Pazardzhik.
In 1980the museum and the city gallery “St. Dospevski ”moved to a new building in the city center. The opening was made at a special celebration under the patronage of Lyudmila Zhivkova.
Passed through the stages of amateur work of patriotic Bulgarians, established itself as a community center museum, developed as a state cultural institute with the status of District, Regional and Regional, today the museum occupies a significant place in the national museum system.
The permanent exposition of the museum is presented in different in nature and scope of time halls. It covers a large period of time – from prehistory to the new Bulgarian history. The ethnographic exposition is divided into an authentic Revival house, and the native house of Konstantin Velichkov presents the life and activity of the prominent bazaar.
In the Archeology Hall, visitors can see various examples of the material and spiritual culture of Pazardzhik and the region: a model of a house, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic ceramic vessels from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, rich idol sculpture, cult objects, ancient, medieval and Western European coins, , jewelry and one of the richest collections of votive tablets of the Thracian horseman.
Vazrazhdane Hall presents Pazardzhik and the region during the Bulgarian Revival and the participation of the population in the national liberation struggles and the April Uprising (1876) until the Liberation in 1878. The exposition is made up of originals presenting the rich collections in the museum’s funds: weapons, coins, belongings of craft associations, old printed books. Over 200 original exhibits are organized by the thematic centers of the exposition-economic development of Pazardzhik as a commodity market; struggle of the population for an independent Bulgarian church, for Bulgarian education, for national liberation.
New History Hall is organized in three separate but interconnected halls. The first hall presents important personalities for Pazardzhik, part of the local self-government bodies after the Liberation. The central part of the exhibition is dedicated to the most famous historical and architectural monuments in the city in modern times – the church “St. Bogoroditsa ”and the Old Post Office. Plans of the city from the beginning of the XX century, the work of prominent architects from Pazardzhik are also shown. In the second hall are presented some traditional crafts, typical for the city – tailoring, rope making, hat making, basketry, tinsmithing and others. Special attention is paid to agriculture, which is presented with many photos, documents and original materials that give an idea of the way of agricultural production in the last century. The third hall is dedicated to school work. The expositions present the cultural, educational, sports and charitable societies and organizations in the city, the work of the local intelligentsia. Important artists for Pazardzhik, with special significance for the cultural life – writers, poets, artists, journalists, musicians and others are also presented.
In the lapidarium of the museum (external and internal) are found chronologically finds that are not included in the internal museum exposition: statues, road columns, altars, cult stone figures. Architectural elements are also shown – bases, capitals, columns, architraves.
The ethnographic exposition is arranged in the largest residential building in Pazardzhik from the Renaissance era, built in 1850 in the style of the Plovdiv Revival Baroque house. The owner, Nikola Hristovic, was a wealthy merchant from Pazardzhik. It has been declared a national architectural and artistic cultural monument. The ethnographic exposition presents the richness and diversity of the traditional folk culture from Bulgaria, which covers parts of the most Bulgarian ethnographic regions: Thrace, Srednogorie and the Rhodopes. Valuable evidence of the way of life, livelihood and spiritual culture of the population of Pazardzhik has been collected and stored in the fund of the Ethnography Department. They form 15 collections: objects of urban life, clothing, handicraft tools and works, tools for tillage and logging, architectural details, folk musical instruments,
The native house of Konstantin Velichkov (1855 – 1907) has been turned into an exposition at the Regional Historical Museum – Pazardzhik. The building has been declared an architectural, artistic and historical cultural monument of national importance. The interiors of the house have been restored in the exposition. The rich photo-documentary part reveals Velichkov’s family environment and personality, his contribution to Bulgarian history and culture as a prominent Revival figure, educator, active participant in the national liberation struggles, politician and statesman in post-liberation Bulgaria, writer, translator, artist. The museum is one of the established centers for cultural events and celebrations. The traditional Velichkov days occupy a significant place in the cultural calendar of the city.
Object of the museumis also a settlement mound Yunatsite, Yunatsite village, Pazardzhik region. The results of 40 years of archeological excavations of the settlement mound Heroes are extremely important for prehistoric science. New information has been revealed about the structure of the settlements, the house-building, the economy, the spiritual life and burial practices of the most ancient inhabitants of the mound, who lived here for several millennia during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age.
Regional History Museum – Pazardzhik is one of the most authoritative museums in the country. Its funds contain more than 75,000 cultural values, some of which have visited the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Norway, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland and other countries.
The museum is a beneficiary of many national projects and a partner of various institutions in European Union projects. RIM-Pazardzhik periodically organizes International and National conferences, round tables, symposia.
An accessible environment for people with disabilities has been created in the museum building.
At the Constituent Assembly of the Association “Bulgarian Museums”, held on November 30, 2012 in Ruse, Regional History Museum – Pazardzhik, represented by its director Boris Hadjiiski, was elected Chairman of the Board of the Association. Three years later, on November 26, 2015, RIM – Pazardzhik was elected Chairman of the Board for a second consecutive term, and on November 30, 2018 – for a third term. Members of the Association as of August 31, 2020 are 121 national, regional, municipal and private museums.
