Photos: Dryanovo Municipality.
It is no coincidence that the year-long events in Dryanovo commemorating the 225th anniversary of Kolyu Ficheto’s birth will conclude with a concert by the Bulgarian National Radio Children’s Choir. The choir was founded and led by its long-time director and conductor (until 2013) Hristo Nedyalkov, who was born in Dryanovo. “Don’t build so many walls to divide you, but more bridges to bring you together” –
These words by the giant of Renaissance architecture and construction and renowned master Kolyu Ficheto were the motto of the celebrations, which culminated on May 3 with a concert by the Bulgarian National Radio Children’s Choir.
These words by the giant of Renaissance architecture and construction and renowned master Kolyu Ficheto were the motto of the celebrations, which culminated on October 3 and were attended by the Chair of the National Assembly, Natalia Kiselova, in Dryanovo.
A little earlier, the fourth edition of the National Scientific Conference “Epochs, Personalities, Memory,” organized by the Historical Museum in Dryanovo, came to an end in the town.
The forum was of a high academic standard
and attracted nearly 50 scholars, university lecturers, museum specialists, and researchers from all over Bulgaria to the city of master Kolyu Ficheto. They presented their work, reports, and studies, divided into two thematic sections: “Cultural Heritage, Museology, Ethnology, Architecture, and Art” and “History and Personalities.” The scientific leaders of the forum were Prof. Dr. Petko St. Petkov from the University of Veliko Tarnovo “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arch. Velina Pandzhara from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy.
The reports of the conference participants will be published in volume 5 of the series “Proceedings of the Historical Museum – Dryanovo,” which is scheduled to be released in November this year.
Science requires lively communication,
Prof. Petkov emphasized, adding, “Four years is a significant milestone. We can safely say that this conference has already become a tradition. It has gained recognition and manages to bring together people with common interests, both museum employees and young scientists, which is very gratifying.” According to him, such discussions are extremely important and useful, especially in times when communication between people is increasingly taking place through new technologies and the Internet.
The bilingual edition “Kolyu Ficheto. The Bulgarian Construction Genius” was published
on the eve of the end of the celebrations that marked Dryanovo throughout 2025. Another book is now available to readers – volume 4 of the series “News from the Historical Museum – Dryanovo.”
The publication “Kolyu Ficheto: The Bulgarian Construction Genius” is luxurious and richly illustrated. Its authors are the chief curator of the museum in Dryanovo, Dr. Venelin Barakov, and his colleague, Stiliana Topalova-Marchovska.
The two present Kolyu Ficheto in a lesser-known light—as an architect, sculptor, and woodcarver. The texts were written by museum specialists, some of the photos were selected from the archives of the Historical Museum in Dryanovo, and the rest were taken by the Destination Dryanovo team. The book is published in partnership with the Stroitel newspaper and with the financial support of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber.
The collection “News from the Historical Museum – Dryanovo” continues the tradition started with the previous three volumes (2009, 2023, and 2024) of collecting and promoting scientific reports and research by historians, museum specialists, archivists, teachers, and local historians. The fourth volume is an impressive 467-page publication, divided into two main parts – scientific reports and communications from the National Conference “Epochs, Personalities, Memory” (2024) and activities of the Historical Museum – Dryanovo in 2024. All materials are accompanied by short summaries in English, and some of them are enriched with illustrations, documents, and graphs.
