Sport Museum

History

The Museum of Physical Culture and Sport is located in a special hall for the purpose in Vassil Levski National Stadium.

Sport Museum had been founded with Decision of the SCPES Bureau (Supreme Committee for Physical Education and Sport) and with a letter from the Ministry of Culture in April 26, 1956.

In September 1, 1959 the SCPES Bureau (Supreme Committee for Physical Education and Sport – structure after the Supreme Committee) took a Decision № 30 with Report № 1 ‘Opening of the Museum of Physical Culture and Sport’ and the first museum exposition had been opened in March 30, 1962 and at first it was in the Sport chamber.

Sport museum as department structure through the years had been subordinate to as follows:

• Supreme Committee for Physical Education and Sport (1956-1956)
• Bulgarian Union for Physical Education and Sport (1958-1962)
• Georgy Dimitrov Supreme Institution for Physical Education and Sport (now National Sport Academy) from 1963 to 1985.
• Bulgarian Union for Physical Education and Sport from 1986 and to the National Sport Base Plc. from 1997 with financial and technical security of the expositional base in Vassil Levski National Stadium.
  

Stages of organizational building

From 1956 to 1967 is a period of an organizational building of the Museum and the searching if its unique place in the System for Physical Education and Sport.

From 1968 to 1980 began the construction of the Museum. The team of the Museum searched, gathered, prepared for depositing exponents and materials connected with the national culture of physical education and sport.

From 1981 to nowadays the Museum of Physical Culture and Sport occupies a place in our sport history with numerous exponents and exhibits and displays rich funds of our sport glory.

Because of the reconstruction of Vassil Levski National Stadium for a short while the exposition was not open for visitors.

The official opening of the new Sport museum is in August 27, 2003. Among the guests of the ceremony are the Prime-Minister Simeon Sax Coburg Gotha and UNESCO General Secretary Mr. Koichiro Matsura. Minister Vasil Ivanov – Luchano honoured Mr. Matsura with Golden sign with ribbon of the Ministry of youth and sport.

100 national historical sites

Museum of the physical Culture and Sport is № 66 in the list of the 100 national historical sites.

Exposition

Traditions and some of the Bulgarian sport achievements

The renewed Museum of the Physical Culture and Sport presents an exposition which is titled ‘Traditions and some of the Bulgarian sport achievements’. It displays the history of the Bulgarian sport and the highest achievements of our native sportsmen.

History of the Bulgarian sport

Museum funds are acquired by donations of famous Bulgarian sportsmen, competitors and sport figures. Donors are famous sport figures in recent times and now: Krum Lekarski, Nadejda Lekarska, gen. Vladimir Stoichev, the runner Grigoriy Pedan, famous sportsmen as Jordanka Blagoeva, Diana Yorgova, Zdravka Jordanova and Svetal Otsetova, Vesela Lecheva and many others.

Donor to the museum exposition is Hristo Stoichkov who cherished his own sport T-shirt which everybody, especially the children, is happy to find it there for Stoichkov is considered to be the greatest Bulgarian football player of all times.

One of the last donations to the museum is from the great Bulgarian volleyball player Todor Simov, a legendary name from the late 40s and the early 50s of the last century. He donated programs, medals and insignias of honour to the international sport scene.

Over 500 exponents, photos and facsimiles present the first sport unions – tourist societies, clubs and organizations. Among the precious exposition belongings are a copy of the first Bulgarian bicycle, personal belongings and awards of our great fighters Dan Colov and Nikola Petrov. The visitors can see a fencing costume of a Bulgarian Olympian from Amsterdam 1928 and other competitor’s equipments, many cups and a collection of conquered medals from Bulgarian sportsmen.

One old picture is especially precious. The original photo dates from 1894 and on it one can see the Swiss gymnastics teachers who had come in Bulgaria at the invitation of the Minister of the Enlightment in that time. They had been allocated in the big high-schools in the country. In fact these teachers laid the foundations of the modern sport in the country.

The highest achievements of our national sportsmen

The most valuable are the Olympic medals won by eminent sportsmen like Manol Manolov – bronze medal from Melbourne, 1956, Diana Yorgova who granted her silver medal from Muenchen, 1972 at track-and-field athletics, Jordanka Blagoeva who granted her medals from Muenchen (1972) and Monreal (1976) and also Krasimira Gyuruva from the Bulgarian basketball team which won bronze medals in Monreal in 1976 when the basketball had been for the first time included to the Olympic program.

Figure skating stars Albena Denkova and Maksim Staviyski granted one of their bronze medals from the World Championship in Washington (USA) and also their equipments.

Working hours
The Museum of the physical culture is with working time as follows: from 10.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 17.00 Monday to Friday.
Ticket: 1lv (discounts for groups over ten persons)
Curator: Katia Ivanova, phone number (02) 9 300 754
Expert assistant: Tsvetelina Borshukova, phone number (02) 9 300 754