Head of BTA Calls for Completing Construction of National Library on Library's 147th Anniversary

Nikolay Zabov, Vanya Suharova

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Sofia, December 10, 2025 (BTA Photo/Aleksandrina Peteva)

Sofia,

10.12.2025 14:06

(BTA)

Speaking at the celebrations dedicated to Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library's 147th anniversary here on Wednesday, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said that completing the constructions on the building hosting the library should be finished hopefully by the institution's 150th anniversary.

In his key remarks, Valchev said that the history of the National Library has many dates that are worth commemorating, such as April 4, 1878, when Mihail Bubotinov, a teacher and secretary of the City Council in Sofia, proposed to have a public library established; June 5, 1879, when the Sofia Public Library was granted the status of a state institution under the name Bulgarian National Library at the suggestion of historian and philologist Marin Drinov.

In 1939, construction began on the new library building, however, that building was almost destroyed during the bombings of Sofia in 1944. In 1963, the library changed its name from Vasil Kolarov, a Bulgarian communist leader, to Sts Cyril and Methodius, the creators of the Glagolitic alphabet.

Valchev proceeded to read a BTA article from December 16, 1953, when the opening of the new building of the state library took place. The article reported that the library will boast a modern book storage facility after its completion, however, that never happened. The head of BTA said: "The library was not finished, and the space around it is currently empty. It is up to our generation to complete the work of our ancestors. And why not have the building completed as it was designed for the 150th anniversary of the Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library?". According to Valchev, legislative changes are needed in Sofia's urban planning in order to facilitate the completion of this project, which can be viewed as inspiration, a source of pride and a symbol of unity.

/RD/