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

Celebrating 129 years of organised tourism 

Cultural events on Vitosha mark first mass ascent of Cherni Vrah

On the 27th of August 1895, 300 people followed Aleko Konstantinov's call to climb the highest peak of Vitosha - Cherni Vrah.
Photo: Archive

The first mass ascent of Cherni Vrah on Vitosha Mountain 129 years ago is being celebrated today with a series of events, including several cultural ones as part of the "Green Libraries" campaign, the Sofia Library has announced.

The hike was led by writer Aleko Konstantinov (known as Shtastlivetsa, or "The Fortunate One") and marked the founding of the organised tourism movement in Bulgaria.

Photo: BGNES

The exhibition "Contemplation of Shtastlivetsa" with quotations from the works of the writer Aleko Konstantinov and photographs of the Vitosha Mountain from the beginning of the 20th century will be opened in front of the Aleko Chalet. Visitors will also be able to see publications by foreign travellers and Bulgarian explorers dedicated to the mountain and its surroundings. 

Aleko Konstantinov
At the same place Petar Tchouhov and Ivan Hristov will recite their poems and play ethno-folk music. The mobile library "Bibliobus" will also be there. 



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

New book about the forgotten Bulgarian origin of our compatriots from Albania and Kosovo

A new book "Bulgarian communities in Albania and Kosovo. Socio-political processes and demographic consequences (1913-2024)" was presented in Sofia. The work of Assoc. Prof. Spas Tashev, demographer at the Bulgarian Academy of..

published on 4/25/25 1:29 PM

Balkan developments

Students block the entrances to the Radio and Television of Serbia For 12 days now, students and citizens have been blocking the entrances to Serbia’s national radio and television broadcaster (RTS) in protest against how the state media is..

published on 4/25/25 11:33 AM
Aaron Willem

Bulgaria in a Special Corner of the Library in Brussels’ Schaerbeek District

In the Schaarbeek municipality of Brussels, there is a small corner of Bulgaria inside the Sophia Municipal Library, housing a valuable collection of Bulgarian books. Librarian Aaron Willem played a key role in setting up the Bulgarian section of the..

published on 4/23/25 1:26 PM