Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Society of Banat Bulgarians celebrates 55 years since its establishment

Banat Bulgarians in folk costumes. The second person from right to left is Mikhail Shipkov.
Photo: Gyuro Lavrov's private archive

On this date, 55 years ago, the first Society of Banat Bulgarians in Bulgaria was established. It was born due to the enthusiasm and ambition of the heir of the Bulgarians from Vinga, Mikhail Shipkov, born in 1919 in the Bulgarian village of Asenovo near the town of Pleven, Northern Bulgaria.

The society was established as a "patriotic organization" uniting the Banat Bulgarians and their descendants in Sofia. Its goal was to maintain close ties with the compatriot groups in Bulgaria in order to preserve the traditional way of life and culture and the Banat Bulgarian self-identity. 

After the death of Mikhail Shipkov in 1996, the society's activities ceased. In 2007, its operation was resumed via the registration of a new society which was the successor of the old one. Its leader became Svetlana Karadzova, which gradually led to uniting the activity of the society and the Falmis concept born in 1998 of the first printed edition of Banat Bulgarians in Bulgarian "FALMIS-Uvec falim" (from the Catholic greeting "Laudater Jesus Christus!", Falmis is based on the abbreviation of this greeting).

In 2016, a dance group "Falmis" was created as part of the organization. It brings the descendants of the Banat Bulgarians in the capital close to the Banat Bulgarian folklore, but also gladly accepts friends and admirers from near and far as members.



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

Why a new Pan-Orthodox Council must be convened in Sofia

26 years ago, on 30 September, at the initiative of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), a Pan-Orthodox Council was convened in Sofia to resolve the schism within the Bulgarian clergy . Then, despite the efforts of Patriarch Bartholomew of Istanbul to..

published on 9/30/24 7:05 AM
On September 20, Prof. Ludmil Vagalinski's team discovered a statue in Heraclea Sintica, three days later they also discovered the head of the sculpture.

Floor mosaic and the head of a Roman statue discovered at Heraclea Sintica

The head of a statue has been unearthed during excavations in the great canal of the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica located in Southwestern Bulgaria, close to the town of Petrich. The head longs to the statue that was discovered a few days ago..

published on 9/23/24 4:48 PM

85 European archaeologists meet in Bulgaria to discuss "Frontier Landscapes along the Danube"

From 23 to 28 September, Sofia and Vidin will host the 7th International Conference on the Roman Danubian Provinces on the theme "Frontier Landscapes along the Danube", reports BNR Vidin. The initiative was taken by the University of Ferrara, Italy...

published on 9/23/24 8:45 AM