Ivan Vazov's Silver Lyre! Nadezhda Terzi in front of FACT

Today we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Vazov. The name of the People's Poet is the name of the sea cape “Vazov“ on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The National Theater has been named after Ivan Vazov since 1976. Streets, boulevards, community centers, schools, libraries, and a residential district in Sofia are named after him. The highest hut in Bulgaria, in the Rila Mountains, above the Seven Rila Lakes area, where Vazov wrote his work “The Great Rila Desert“, is named after him. Nadezhda Terzi, chief curator of the “Ivan Vazov House-Museum, speaks in front of FACT.

- Mrs. Terzi, today marks the 175th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Vazov and the renewed permanent exhibition on the life and work of the People's Poet, realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, will be opened in the house-museum "Ivan Vazov" in Sofia. What can be seen in it?
- The House-Museum "Ivan Vazov" is the first Bulgarian literary museum in the capital, which opened its doors in 1926. Here Ivan Vazov spent the last 26 years of his life.

- What are the most valuable exhibits related to the life of Ivan Vazov in his capital home - today, one of the most visited house-museums in the country?
- Visitors can touch original objects and belongings of the People's Poet. Awards and congratulatory addresses on the occasion of the writer's two anniversaries are exhibited here. Countless are the valuable exhibits that can be viewed in the home of the Patriarch of Bulgarian Literature.
Among them is the “Silver Lyre“, a gift to Ivan Vazov from the Jubilee Committee for the poet's first anniversary in 1895. on the occasion of his 25 years of literary activity. The exquisite gift was made by special order in Vienna. The titles of some of Vazov's immortal works are written on the petals: “Unloved-Unloved“, “Under the Yoke“, “Houses“, “Uncles“, “Pryaporets and Gusla“, “The Sorrows of Bulgaria“, “Draski i šarki“, “Slivnitsa“, etc.

- Tsar Boris III awarded him the highest honor in the kingdom - the Order of "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", with which he was proclaimed People's Poet. What recognition is this …
- The Order of "St. St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius", with which Ivan Vazov was awarded during the Second Jubilee in 1920 personally by Tsar Boris III, who visited the jubilee at his home for the ceremony, is very valuable. Ivan Vazov is the only one who also receives the right to keep the order forever.

The Tsar issues a decree by which Vazov is proclaimed People's Poet again during the Second Jubilee, and behind this recognition stands not only a statesman's decision, but also the immense love of the people.

And let us just for a moment recall the words of the People's Poet, spoken during the Second Jubilee: „I sang about Bulgaria because I loved it; I instilled in young souls faith and love for my own, because I was a son of Bulgaria; I glorified its divinely beautiful nature, because I was fascinated by it; I immersed myself in its history, because I was captivated by the greatness of its past life…“

- What kind of people visit Vazov's last home these days? People also leave reviews. Are there any that you would single out?
- The name of Ivan Vazov is a symbol of national pride and Bulgarianness. We carry his works in our hearts from the cradle to the grave. There is no school in which children do not begin their education in patriotism with Vazov's songs.

The last home of the People's Poet has long since become a shrine for all of us.

Everyone who has crossed the threshold of Vazov's museum, remains moved by what he saw and experienced. A place that teaches us humility and gratitude. A place that spiritually enriches us.

Traditionally, on July 9, the house-museum “Ivan Vazov“ is free to enter.

All residents and guests of the city have the opportunity to once again touch the spiritual world of Ivan Vazov, because as he himself said about himself:

I too will leave in my turn,
grass will grow above the dust.
One will pity me, another will curse me,
but my poems will still be read.