site.btaFebruary 6, 1896: Prince Ferdinand I Issues Decree Endorsing State Drawing School Establishment Act

On February 6, 1896, Bulgaria's Prince Ferdinand I issued a decree endorsing the State Drawing School Establishment Act (later renamed National Art Academy). 

The archive documents for the setting up of the present Academy reveal the names of outstanding artists among the founders - Anton Mitov, Ivan Mrkvicka and Boris Schatz, and the men of letters Konstantin Velichkov and Ivan Shishmanov, the Academy says on its website.

In 1911, the teaching staff submitted a plan for development to the Bulgarian Ministry of Education in which they also put forward their request for the School to be renamed "Academy of Art". Ten years later, in 1921, following a proposal by Stoyan Omarchevski, Minister of Education, the State School of Drawing became Academy of Art.
 
Today, the National Academy of Art is still considered the most prestigious Bulgarian institution for training professional artists in the field of fine and applied arts, design, conservation and restoration, and history and theory of art with BA, MA and DA degrees.