site.btaBulgarian Tourist Union Celebrates 161st Birth Anniversary of its Patron Aleko Konstantinov

The Bulgarian Tourist Union celebrated on Saturday the 161st birth anniversary of its patron and founder of the organized Bulgarian tourist movement with the laying of flowers and singing hiking songs in front of the bust-monument of Aleko Konstantinov in the Borisova Gradina Park in Sofia.

Bulgarian Tourist Union President Ventsislav Venev welcomed the gathered members of the organization and guests, urging them to be "devoted to the Bulgarian Tourist Union and the work of the great patron Aleko Konstantinov".

In his speech, historian Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Eldarov reflected on the fundamental role of Aleko Konstantinov in laying the foundations of organized Bulgarian tourism.

The celebration was attended by tourism activists, members of the operational management and the Union's board.

The anniversary was celebrated also on Friday in Aleko Konstantinov's hometown - Svishtov, on the Danube. 

The International Short Story Competition "Aleko", which is organized annually on the eve of Aleko Days, announced its winners. The prize was awarded to the Hungarian writer with Bulgarian roots Tosho Donchev. Part of the programme in honour of Aleko Konstantinov was the presentation of a charity performance to raise funds for the republishing of Aleko's works Bai Ganyo: Incredible Tales of a Modern Bulgarian and To Chicago and Back.

Aleko Konstantinov was born in Svishtov (on the Danube, Northwestern Bulgaria) on January 1, 1863. He studied in his native town and in Gabrovo. Having finished his secondary education in Nikolaev, Russia (now Mykolaiv, Ukraine), in 1881, he graduated in law from the Imperial Novorossiya University in Odessa in 1885. He worked in Sofia as a judge, prosecutor, jurisconsult and freelance lawyer. He was dismissed twice for political reasons.

Konstantinov is credited with pioneering the tourist movement in Bulgaria. He visited the world's fairs in Paris (1889), Prague (1891), and Chicago (1893). The writer joined Petko Karavelov's Democratic Party and contributed to its print media. Konstantinov was assassinated near the Radilovo village (South Central Bulgaria), most probably by mistake, the actual target being local politician Mihail Takev with whom they shared a cab ride.

He wrote features, short stories, travel notes and feuilletons and translated texts from Russian and French. His two essential works are the collection of feuilletons Bai Ganyo: Incredible Tales of a Modern Bulgarian and the travelogue To Chicago and Back. Both have been published in English. Works by Konstantinov have been translated into Estonian, Russia, Serbian, German, Polish, French, Czech and other languages, some 30 altogether.