site.btaForeign Minister Mitov Receives Donation from Family of Swiss Founder of Sports Movement in Bulgaria

Foreign Minister Mitov Receives Donation from Family of Swiss Founder of Sports Movement in Bulgaria

Sofia, November 12 (BTA) - Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov Thursday received a donation from the family of the founder of the sports movement in Bulgaria, Louis-Emil Eyer, the Foreign Ministry said.

Born in Homberg in the Canton of Berne, Eyer studied in Lausanne, Geneva and Neuchatel and taught sport disciplines in Vevey. In 1894, Eyer and nine other Swiss pedagogues, including Georges de Regibus and Charles Champaud, were invited to Bulgaria by Education Minister Georgi Zhivkov to lay the foundations of sports education in the country.

When the Balkan Wars broke out, Eyer, despite being a foreign citizen, regarded the protection of his second homeland as his duty and enlisted in the Bulgarian Army as a volunteer. After Bulgaria joined World War I, Eyer again enlisted as a volunteer as an officer in the 38th Infantry Regiment. He died on September 2, 1916 in the Battle of Doiran.

The donation consists of his sword, two Bulgarian orders and an original oil portrait of the young Eyer. The donations will be exhibited at the National Museum of Military History and the Museum of Physical Culture and Sports. The ceremony was attended by Swiss Ambassador Denis Knobel, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Switzerland, Meglena Plougchieva, and representatives on the ministries of culture and of youth and sports.