Acclaimed poet, humanist and antifascist Nikola Vaptsarov was born on 7 December, 1909 in the small mountain town of Bansko. Having been charged with subversion, he was sentenced to death by firing squad and executed at the garrison shooting range in Sofia on 23 July, 1942.

Nikola Vaptsarov is the only Bulgarian, holder of the honorary award of the World Peace Council, conferred on him posthumously in 1952.

BNR’s correspondent in Bansko Keti Trencheva with more:

“In the year in which the poet’s mother Elena Vaptsarova received the world distinction on behalf of her son, their family home opened doors as a museum, laying the foundations of museology in Bansko. The museum displays all important documents connected with the life of the poet, the history of his family, drafts of poems, the first edition of his collection of poems Motor Songs.”

In 1952, when ten years had passed from his death, part of Nikola Vaptsarov’s archives was put on display at his home, and the atmosphere from his childhood revived. The first guide at the museum was the poet’s mother Elena Vaptsarova. 

Seven decades later, interest in the Nikola Vaptsarov museum and in his work is definitely coming back, says Svetla Baryakova, director of the Museum Complex-Bansko:  

“His poetry is undergoing a rebirth because it is so human, and anyone can discover themselves in it – their own sorrows, their own troubles, joys, dreams and ideals. People from all over the world come here to honour Nikola Vaptsarov.”

• The Nikola Vaptsarov Museum in Bansko

Reporting by Keti Trencheva

Editing by Elena Karkalanova

Photos: Keti Trencheva, visit-bansko.bg