site.btaMausoleum of Evlogi, Hristo Georgiev Brothers in Bucharest Opens to Public

A mausoleum of Bulgarian 19th-century entrepreneurs and benefactors Evlogi and Hristo Georgiev, which has the status of a museum, opened to visitors in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest on Sunday. This was realized on the initiative of the Bulgarian Embassy in the Romanian capital on the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of Hristo Georgiev, the younger of the two brothers, and in cooperation with a local NGO.

The mausoleum was visited by more than 200 people in the first hours since it was unveiled. Among the visitors were Bulgarian Ambassador to Romania Radko Vlaykov, the representative of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bucharest, Kiril Sinev, and Danubius Euroregion Association Executive Director Lili Gancheva.

Volunteers guided visitors through the history of the mausoleum. "Its construction began in 1897, when Evlogi Georgiev died. It took five years and was done by renowned Romanian architect Ion Mincu, the founder of the new Romanian architectural school and author of emblematic buildings in Bucharest. Four bronze figures of evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John guard the mausoleum outside. They were created by Romanian sculptor of German descent Fritz Stork," said one of the volunteers. 

Ambassador Vlaykov recalled that the Georgiev brothers had made many donations to the University of Bucharest, adding that the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia was also built with their donations.  Vlaykov noted that Evlogi Georgiev was also the first diplomatic representative of Bulgaria in the Romanian capital.