An examination of Clara Schumann’s musical salons and the research problems that occurred

Author(s): Marlene Priller / Language(s): English Issue: 03 (30)/2016

Clara and Robert Schumann were connected very closely to the culture of the musical salons serving young and ambitious musicians and composers. Clara Schumann’s life is documented very well, but there is only a very small amount of literature dealing with her activities in the musical salon. This paper aims at providing an insight into the different circles Clara as well as her husband organised. The existent and non-existent source material is discussed and, by doing that, the current state of research on this subject is elaborated. Furthermore, this paper endeavours to point out the difficulties of research on this topic. That part is followed by a closer look at the characteristics of the private circles of the Schumanns during their years of marriage and the years after Robert Schumann’s death from 1856 to 1896.

Към историята на Българското тайно революционно братство в Турция (1897 – 1899)

Author(s): Todor Radev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2017

The study addresses specific problems related to the establishment, the development and the cessation of the Bulgarian secret revolutionary fraternity in Turkey. Special attention is paid to existing hypotheses that the Thessaloniki-based organization is a conspiracy concept of the Bulgarian Exarchate, the Bulgarian trade agent Atanas Shopov or the Sofia Supreme Macedonian Committee. However, these hypotheses are not supported by evidence in the historical sources. The version suggested here puts forward the well-grounded position that the birth of the Secret Fraternity is an initiative of teachers at the Bulgarian Male High School in Thessaloniki, who decided to oppose to the propaganda of the Internal Macedonian-Edirne Revolutionary Organization that was continuously deteriorating the school discipline among the students. New historical sources for this unsuccessful irredentist project are presented and analyzed accordingly.

На границата на османското пространство: Видин, ХV – първата половина на ХVІІІ в.

Author(s): Rossitsa Gradeva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3-4/2015

Based on a variety of mainly Ottoman primary sources – kadı sicills, tapu tahrir defters, single documents, as well as contemporary narratives, the article aims at elucidating the impact of the wars waged by the Ottomans with their neighbours at a time of expansion and retreat in one Ottoman border region and city. More specifically it analyses the influence of the war and the frontier on the defence system and the military institutions, on the establishment and development of the provincial administration and the agrarian regime over a period of nearly four centuries. The focus is on the city of Vidin during the wars at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century following which it again came at the frontline of Ottoman defence, and on the influence of the frontier on the relations between the two main religious communities in the region, the Muslims and the Orthodox Christians.

Княз Леополд Сакс-Кобургски (1790 – 1865) – родословие и начална дейност

Author(s): Svetla Gloushkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2017

The initial public activity of the German prince Leopold Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is connected to the major events in Europe, in the beginning of XIX century. The marriages of his sisters with members of the Russian imperial family, his physical attractiveness and the bravery that he manifested during the war with Napoleon’s armies in 1813 proves him to be the most suitable candidate for marriage with the heiress of the British throne Charlotte in 1816. This marriage opens great perspectives for him.

Караджа паша джамия в Гоце Делчев – историографски разказ и документални реалии

Author(s): Damian Borisov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2017

By comparing the historiographical narrative of Karadzha Pasha Mosque in Gotse Delchev and content of the documents on which it was built, this article raises several questions, the answers to which give cause for rethinking the facts.

Граници и мостове в градското пространство. Примери из историята на Сливен

Author(s): Adelina Fendrina / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2017

This article is part of a student essay dedicated to the history of Sliven, which has been awarded second prize in the IX National History Competition „Borders in History - History without Borders“ organized by Values Foundation (2015-2016). The selected part of the paper examines the ethnic borders in the wake of Bulgaria’s National Revival.

Търговската модерност на Българското възраждане

Author(s): Margarita Marinova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2017

Реалното и виртуалното в музейното образование – върху примера на една реализирана образователна програма

Author(s): Vasya Delibaltova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2017

In this article an attempt was made to present the designed and implemented museum education program built on a specific interpretation of the relationship “real-virtual” through art based on the developed and presented at the National Museum of Military History exhibition dedicated to the World War II. The evaluation and implementation of the museum program involved 4 student, 8 curators and 48 visitors of the exhibition. The presented data is connected with both the preparatory phase of the program and the main activities real and virtual, carried during and after the exposition and the result.

A Study of Begliktash Megalithic Complex

Author(s): Diana Kjurkchieva,Evgeni Stoykov,Sabin Ivanov,Borislav Borisov,Hristo Hristov,Pencho Kyurkchiev,Dimitar Vladev,Irina Nikolova Ivanova / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

The article presents the results of interdisciplinary study of megalithic complex Begliktash conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Shumen. The main conclusion is that Begliktash is a natural phenomenon with interesting stone complex morphology that may have been artificially consolidated and used both to perform rituals and for calendar purposes.

Парадигмата за дара: поглед към научните концепции, направления и школи в етнологията и културната антропология

Author(s): Galin Georgiev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2016

The topic of the gift in its various cultural, socio -economic, religious and so forth dimensions is for a long time in the focus of the scientific attention and has been a permanent research object in the field of humanities; the topic constantly excites and provokes. To review such a world-wide topic in humanities and from the point of view of its century-old presence and the engagement of scientific huminaries and thinkers such as Claude Levi-Strauss, Jacques Derrida, Emile Benveniste, Vyacheslav Ivanov or Aron Gurevich rather than of its specific aspect or data from personal, „unknown“ field, is the challenge before this paper. The natural motive of such review (no matter how much distant it is from the orderly and consistent final result) is to trace the development and outline the fulcrums of the main theories dedicated to the gift and the exchange of gifts in ethnology and cultural anthropology. On the one hand, although more sketchily, this review is necessary in relation to their place and role for the formation of more general postulates and trends in these disciplines. On the other hand, they are examined as a separate aradigm departing from the field of study of these two disciplines but also drawing them near (together with topics such as magic, totem, taboo) a broad circle of ideas and imaginations intrinsic to man in general.

Между минало и настояще. Култура на южнокарнобатските села в началото на ХХІ в. Съст. Г. Георгиев. Бургас: 2015

Author(s): Galin Georgiev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2016

Дирята на възрожденците енциклопедисти от Сливенско в българския обществен живот, родната и европейската наука на XIX век

Author(s): Ivanka Deneva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2017

Paying tribute to the individual personalities, interests and scientific focuses, the purpose of the study is to look for the unifying contacts between the spiritual giants Dr. Petar Beron (1799 – 1871), Dr. Ivan Seliminski (1799 – 1866) and Dr. Georgi Mirkovich (1826 – 1905) – using the “parallel approach” in the review and evaluation of their contributions to the Enlightenment, public and research areas for the benefit of the Fatherland and Sliven region and to European science of XIX century. The grounds for the selection of the topic are set out and the writers from the Bulgarian national revival are compared with their activities in time (considering the specific differences, quests and everyone’s activities) in their: – similarity of ideas and the type of activity in the public and scientific fields; belonging to the nearby “time period” of the formation of their character and work of altruistic nature; in the similar human field of the medics; in affinity for books and knowledge as higher values; in the state of mind and abilities of theoretical thinking and working in the field of Bulgarian and directions of European science of XIX century; in charitable activities to support the Bulgarian schools, community centers, hospitals and education of talented young people; and especially in “the synthesizing difference”: consistent dedication and sacrificial participation in the national liberation causes for gaining autonomy and political freedom of our country in the times of Ottoman rule.The study highlights the kinship goals and practical results in individual areas and their overall public activity, determined by:– higher education in universities of Europe; knowledge of Greek and Latin cultural heritage, political liberal views of the XVIII and XIX century and the achievements of Western “natural sciences”; the availability of personal cognitive and creative potential to become agents of change in the Bulgarian spiritual and social life – in unison with Renaissance European ideas of time by: radical reforms in Bulgarian schools and educational science (textbooks, organization and methods of the learning process) as well as building the foundations of health care (and Dr. G. Mirkovich laid the foundations of municipal management and finance); willingness to work hard, to sacrifice their health, money and life for public causes for independent ecclesiastical and national self-determination and cultural prosperity of the Bulgarians; the brilliance of scientific perspicacity and opportunities for “theoretical systematization” shown in the efforts to write and publish research works in Bulgarian and the main European languages, that presented their contribution to the scientific life by their will and dedication to the work of the scientist-researcher. The analysis of these areas justified in this work the thesis for their brightest track as prominent builders of “origins” in Bulgarian Revival and encyclopedists, who created independent and original research systems, concepts and intertwined their tracks in the spiritual revival of the Fatherland and the science of Europe from the middle XIX century.

„Етнографски етюди. На Димитър Маринов – посвещаваме!“

Author(s): Elena Vodinchar / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

Geopolitical position of Poland - from time of partitions to the independence

Author(s): Jowita Brudnicka - Żółtaniecka / Language(s): English Issue: 23/2016

To understand contemporary geopolitics, especially Polish geopolitics you have to refer to the history. Polish geopolitical philosophy has flourished in a crucial period in the history of the country - the To understand contemporary geopolitics, especially Polish geopolitics you have to refer to the history. Polish geopolitical philosophy has flourished in a crucial period in the history of the country - the time of the fall of the First Republic and partitions. Sketch of Polish geopolitics is well composed into the broader plan of European thought. This is not just a simpple analitycal exercise. Article contains the suggestion, that the events, experiences and geopolitical configurations may exhibit amazing repeatability.

Киселото мляко и неговите локални инструментализации – между родовата памет, културното наследство и европейските проекти

Author(s): Ivaylo Markov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2017

Food and food processing are among those elements of cultural heritage which become invested with considerable emotional charge. Food heritage is often constructed within particular national homogenization processes so these culinary traditions are usually considered typical and characteristic for the nation or the ethnic group. Yoghurt is typically perceived as a Bulgarian national symbol. During the last decade, however, it has been subjected to a specific process of localization related to the local cultural history and heritage of the municipality of Trun. Serving as prerequisites, the historical facts and genealogical memories create links with the significant figure of the microbiologist Dr. Stamen Grigorov, who comes from this region and his scientific discovery of the lactic acid bacteria. Thus yoghurt quickly becomes an important resource for the implementation of local development projects in the context of cultural tourism whereby it acquires new economic significance on the general level as well as for the individual owners oriented to retail production.

Zawieyski może się bronić

Author(s): Barbara Tyszkiewicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 5/2016

The writer Jerzy Zawieyski (1902-1969) represented Catholics at the heart of institutions of political power, and as such the Polish secret service had him under surveillance. The resulting documentation, covering over a decade of his life, offers rich material on the culture, society and politics in the Polish People’s Republic. Joanna Siedlecka book Biografie odtajnione [Declassified Biographies] draws on Zawieyski’s files at the archives of the Communist security apparatus. But her sensationalist portrait, which imbues the files with the status of ‘dark knowledge’ on ‘how it really was back then,’ makes light of the demands of an academic approach towards historical sources. Her narrative is dominated by a focus on homosexuality; the profusion of scandalous details, half-truths and conjectures obscures the emotional troubles that influenced Zawieyski’s work. Tyszkiewiecz’s article points out the weaknesses of such an approach to literary non-fiction and proposes an alternative take on the same material.

Архив на Държавните „Мини Перник“ като извор за стопанската историография

Author(s): Petar Parvanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1-2/2016

The study aims to highlight the way in which the development of Bulgarian economic history is presented in periodicals. The periodic edition of “Mini Pernik” as a source for economic historiography is considered as a concrete example. At the same time, by studying the specialized literature on the topic, the author recreates the history of mining in the region.

Преобразуване на византийския Адрианопол в османския Одрин (ХІV‒ХVІ в.)

Author(s): Stefan Dimitrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1-2/2016

Based on unpublished Ottoman tax registers (tapu tahrir defteri) kept at the Ottoman archives in Istanbul, the article examines the process of transformation of the Byzantine town of Adrianople into the Ottoman Edirne; the change in the architectural and ethnical and confessional layout of the city; the location of a part of the Muslim and Christian population and of the urban quarters inhabited by them; the Jewish communities and the dynamics in the quantitative indicators of the registered households; the condition, designation and functions of the ancient and medieval fortress of Adrianople and the way in which it fitted into the new Ottoman urban setting. Having surrendered voluntarily the fortress of Adrianople to the Ottoman, the Christian population was granted the right to continue to reside in its quarters in its interior. In the 16th century massive communities of Christian citizens inhabited the space among the fortress walls of the Byzantine fortress and the majority of their neighborhoods were situated around churches and bore the name of the respective church, while others were named after their current or former priests. Upon the conquest of the city by the Ottoman troops some of the churches in the fortress were turned into mosques for the purpose of demonstrating the dominant position of Islam and meeting the spiritual needs of the Muslim population. After the takeover of Edirne the Muslim population settled outside the walls of the ancient and medieval fortress, where it set up its neighborhoods. Besides Muslims and Christians many Jews continued to live in the city as well. They included romaniotes as well as Jews from the sepharadim and ashkenazim groups.

Професионалните сдружения в Западна Централна България през XIX век

Author(s): Georgi D. Georgiev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2017

This article is devoted to the structures and frameworks of the professional associations in West Central Bulgaria during the XIX century. The guild-embedded professional life of Bulgarians in the region reveals itself rich in various influences, resulting from migrations, wars, politics, religious life. Each guild owned a complex of traditions, rules, beliefs and cult of a patron saint, particularities, sets of connections and secret slangs, often jealously guarded by its members. The guilds` mutual funds, just like those of the church communities played a key role in the supply of credit to production and trade. The difference is found in the relative amount of supply, which is lesser within the guilds.

Минало и съвремие на Югоизточна Европа през погледа на младите учени

Author(s): Nikolay Poppetrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2017