SOFIA AS A SACRED SPACE FOR ESOTERIC SOCIETIES (END OF THE 19TH – FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY)
Etudes balkaniques (Sofia) 2022 N 1
Georgeta Nazarska
Faculty of Library Science and Cultural Heritage
University of Library Studies and Information Technologies
Bulgaria
Abstract: The article studies the connection between structuring of the Sofia urban space from the end of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century and esoteric communities in the capital (spiritualist, theosophical, anthroposophical, Rosicrucian, freemasonic, co-freemasonic, including some of the NRM). A “case study” of present districts of Krasno Selo, Pavlovo and Ovcha Kupel is made with historical and cultural studies approach. Both the processes of their emergence, settlement, planning, and the socio-cultural profile of their inhabitants, some of whom were associated with occult societies, are explored.
Keywords: esotericism, societies, urban space, Sofia, local history
WOMEN HONORARY CITIZENS IN THE SOCIAL SPACE OF SOFIA (FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY)
Georgeta Nazarska
State University of Library Studies and IT, Sofia
Bulgaria
Abstract: “Reputational elites” had amassed symbolic capital in the Bulgarian public space after the Liberation. Such elites are examined here through the institution of honorary citizenship, focused on women who had been awarded the “Honorary Sign” of Sofia, before the power change in 1944. Investigated is the positioning of charities, chaired by ladies with honorary citizenship, in the social topography and the public space of the capital; in particular, in the secular/sacred urban spaces, and in “lieux de mémoire”. That notion is one tool used, and cultural and historical social topography is another. The methods of social mapping and social network analysis are also applied.
Keywords: Honorary Citizens, Sofia, Women, Lieux de Mémoire, Reputational Elites
ESOTERIC PRACTICES OF BULGARIAN INTELLECTUALS IN THE 1920s AND 1930s : A CASE STUDY
Georgeta Nazarska
State University of Library Studies and IT, Sofia
Abstract: The article presents some facts of newly-found archival documents, testifying to the existence of esoteric networks and practices involving the Bulgarian intellectuals in the 1920s–1930s. The structure, aims and practices of an esoteric network created by Stoyan Zaimov (1853–1932) – a famous Bulgarian revolutionary and cultural figure, are reviewed in the context of the rise of secret and closed societies in Bulgaria after World War I.
Keywords: Esotericism, Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Bulgaria
Muslim Cultural Heritage in Bulgaria: Preservation, Conservation and Socialization during the European Integration Process (1990s-2014)
Georgeta NAZARSKA, Etudes balkaniques (Sofia) 2016 N 3
Abstract: This article deals with the conservation, preservation and socialization of tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Muslims in Bulgaria during the accession of Bulgaria to the structures of the CoE and the EU (1990s-2014). Basic approach in the text is the viewpoint of Cultural Heritage Science. Using the method of analysis of public policies through best practices, different aspects of preservation and conservation of the Muslim cultural heritage (places of worship, public buildings and ensembles, literary and documentary heritage, mother tongue, and social practices) are considered. The article focuses on two main issues: introduction of the European legal framework in the country, and the European structural and investment funding. An assessment of the use of EU funds in order to finance the preservation, conservation and socialization of Muslim cultural heritage is done.
Keywords: Muslim Cultural Heritage, Bulgaria; Preservation, Socialization, European Integration Process