The foundations of the museum work in Sliven
were laid as early as the Bulgarian National
Revival period when patriotically-minded citizens
collected relics of the time of the Bulgarian
medieval kingdom.
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The real foundation
of the museum work began immediately after
the liberation of the town from the Ottoman
rule when the Committee of the Moscow ethnographic
society was founded on 14 February 1878 in
Sliven.
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The aim of the committee
was to find and explore the remains of old
burial grounds, churches, monasteries and
caves in the surroundings of the town.
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Ten years
later, on 27 January, 1888 a learned society
was founded with the aim of studying the
district of Sliven in every aspect.
The society had its own statute and
"instruction for collecting archaeological,
historical and geographical materials.
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The next
step in the museum work was made in 1923 when
an archaeological society was founded. The
aim of the society, as it was written in its
statute, was to "find, store, keep and explore
the monuments of the past of the district
of Sliven and to make people interested in
them". All antiquities collected by the society
were placed and preserved in the museum of
the "Zora" library and community centre in
Sliven. |
The museum of that community centre
was founded in 1913, the year of the earliest
document about its existence. The beginning
of that museum was laid with 12 paintings
by Dimitar Dobrovich, a painter from Sliven,
from the Revival period. His heirs made
a donation of these pictures in 1905. Then
followed new donations of art and museum
valuables, made to the community centre.
In 1951 the museum of the community
centre was made a state property and it
gradually turned into a local scientific
and cultural institution, initially run
by the Town Council, and since 1959 it has
been run by the District Council of Sliven.
Today the Historical Museum is an respected
research institute, which explores and popularises
the rich historical past and cultural heritage
of the town of Sliven and the district of
Sliven, a basic complex treasury of invaluable
historical records. It has the following
departments (sections). |
-Archaeology
-History of the Bulgarian lands in 15-19 CC
-New and modern history of Bulgaria
-Ethnography
-Archives
-Public relations
-workshop for restoration and preservation
-Library
-Accountancy
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The excellent specialists who work in
the museum discover, study, preserve and
popularise the historical past and the rich
folk traditions of Sliven and the Sliven
district.
The museum in Sliven has long-standing
contacts resulting in the fruitful cooperation
with the institutes of the Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, the Institutes of higher education
and the museums throughout the country.
This cooperation has led to a great nimber
of useful scientific initiatives - symposia,
scientific conferences, expeditions, mutual
scientific publications.
The Historical Museum of Sliven is an
institute that is open to joined useful
initiatives for the study and popularisation
of the rich historical heritage of the town
and the district of Sliven. |
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