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18/09/2026
An exhibition on Hristo Botev in Strasbourg: 150 years of immortality. Memory and continuity
On the initiative of Kristian Vigenin, 23 thematic panels on the life, the revolutionary work and the ideas of Botev were presented
The European Parliament in Strasbourg made room for Bulgarian history with an exhibition devoted to Hristo Botev and the 150th anniversary of his death. On the initiative of Kristian Vigenin, 23 thematic panels on the life, the revolutionary work and the ideas of the brilliant poet were presented in the European Parliament.
The UniBIT exhibition
The exhibition was prepared by the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies, together with the St Cyril and St Methodius National Library and the State Agency Archives.
President Iliana Iotova on Botev
The exhibition was opened by President Iliana Iotova. „Botev is the high spirit of Bulgaria. He gave his life for the freedom of the homeland. He created some of the finest verse in Bulgarian literature, she said to those present. „His desire for freedom, for a homeland of his own, was an ideal for Botev, for which he gave what was dearest to him, his life, but which he did not live to see fulfilled“, the President pointed out.
“The images Botev built in his journalism seem to speak about our time, about the 21st century, and that is startling. His political satire rings just as strongly today”, Iotova stressed.
Botev’s significance for Europe
As host of the event, Kristian Vigenin stressed Botev’s significance not only for Bulgarian history but also as a European figure, linked to ideas that remain relevant today. „For us Bulgarians, Botev is much more than a historical figure. He is part of the way we understand ourselves as a people. A poet, journalist and revolutionary, he is one of those rare figures who leave behind not only great work but also shape our ideas of freedom, dignity and civic courage. Botev is deeply Bulgarian and at the same time European in spirit. For him Bulgaria’s Liberation is part of the wider striving for freedom and justice“, Kristian Vigenin said. He thanked the team of the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies for creating the exhibition, behind which stand „knowledge, research work and dedication“ and which makes it possible to meet Botev through documents, works and human testimony.
„Presenting Botev in the European Parliament also carries a message about Bulgaria’s place in Europe. Our contribution to the common European values does not begin with our membership of the European Union. It has deep roots in our literature, our culture and our liberation struggles. Our European belonging does not require us to leave our national history at the threshold. On the contrary, with it we enrich our common European home“, Vigenin emphasised. In his words the exhibition is an occasion for a new meeting with Botev, „with his verse, with the sharpness of his thought, with the questions that do not leave us in peace“, and for the foreign guests it is the beginning of a closer acquaintance with Bulgarian culture.
Presenting the exhibition
The exhibition was presented by Prof. Vanya Dobreva, co-author of the exhibition. She described the work and the deeds of the brilliant Bulgarian poet and revolutionary as a foundation of Bulgarian culture and part of pan-European culture. „Botev is an example and an emblem of the freedom-loving person, ready for self-denial and self-sacrifice in the name of justice. The exhibition shows how Botev’s legacy has been preserved, developed and rethought since the Liberation of Bulgaria. It seeks the aesthetic synthesis between Botev’s personal biography and his political image“, Prof. Dobreva noted
Botev’s verse in Strasbourg
Children from the Hristo Botev Bulgarian school in Strasbourg recited verse by the brilliant Bulgarian poet in Bulgarian and in French and showed how young people continue to honour and preserve his work.
Among the guests were the Chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Iratxe Garcia Perez, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova-Chamova, the Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov, the Director of the Hristo Botev National Museum in Kalofer Asya Nikolova, the Rector of the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies Prof. Irena Peteva, and representatives of European and Bulgarian institutions and of the Bulgarian community in Strasbourg. The opening of the exhibition was honoured by Metropolitan Antony of Western Europe and by the Bulgarian judge at the European Court of Human Rights Diana Kovacheva.
