Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Swiss lay the foundations of physical education in Bulgaria

Photo: nsa.bg

The conference "The work of Swiss teachers - a message and a challenge for future generations" was held today. It was organised by the National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski" and the Swiss Embassy and is dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the arrival of Swiss teachers who laid the foundations of physical education in Bulgaria.

On 17 May 1894, the first 10 physical education teachers from Switzerland arrived in Sofia with the task of establishing sport in Bulgaria. Among them were Charles Champot and Louis Ayer. 

For the first time in Bulgaria, the Swiss imported footballs and various equipment for gymnastics. Champot was Bulgaria's first participant in the Summer Olympics - in Athens in 1896. However, Louis Ayer gained greater fame for fighting in the Balkan War, the Second Balkan War and the First World War, where he died at the Battle of Doiran in 1916. A street in Sofia is named after him.

In honour of the arrival of the Swiss teachers in Bulgaria, 17 May was declared the Day of Bulgarian Sport.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The еthnographic еxhibition “Sunken Heritage” raises serious environmental questions

In the early 1960s, it was concluded that Bulgaria’s water resources were insufficient to meet the needs of agriculture. As a result, large-scale construction of artificial water reservoirs began across the country.   Between 1950 and 1985,..

published on 5/13/25 2:23 PM

Students from Bulgaria and the USA set out to trace Bulgarian-Americans

Bulgarian students from both Bulgaria and the USA embarked on a journey to trace the history of Bulgarian-Americans, spending two years researching the story of Bulgarian emigration to America. Their efforts have been documented in the film “In the..

published on 5/12/25 3:10 PM

Royal symbols from the Second Bulgarian Kingdom adorn sgraffito pottery by the new master craftsmen

There is a special workshop for pottery - of the royal kind – used by the boyar families from the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (12 th – 14 th C.) in what was once the capital of Bulgaria – Veliko Tarnovo. The workshop is located at the..

published on 5/12/25 1:10 PM