Визуалната памет за стара София в няколко фотографии от архива на Националната библиотека
THE VISUAL MEMORY OF THE OLD SOFIA IN SOME PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE ARCHIVE OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY

Summary/Abstract: The photographic collection of the Bulgarian Historical Archive of the National Library “Sts. Cyril and Methodius” in Sofia is the first of this kind in Bulgaria (1948). Nowadays it is impressive in terms of size, richness and chronological scope, but unfortunately the collection is still not well known to different specialists and the general public. This article presents a very small part of this visual treasury of our past – a selected group of old photographs from Sofia. Actually, these are six quite different images when it comes to the subject, aesthetics, emotional impact and quality. They have preserved the appearance and particular atmosphere of the city at the end of the 19th century and during the first decades of the 20th century. Some of these examples are also valuable visual documents of the transformation of Sofia from an oriental town to the modern European capital in this period. This paper discusses the stories behind all these pictures as a kind of source for the history and spirit of Sofia and as well as a part of Bulgarian photographic heritage. These photographic fragments from the past f Sofia are guardians of the memory and have both artistic and documentary value.

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