Bulgaria and Switzerland - Together in History
The documentary exhibition "Bulgaria and Switzerland - Together in History" was presented in the Archives Exhibition Hall on December 13 2016, on the occasion of the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The exhibition was opened by Associate Professor Mihail Gruev, chairman of the Archives State Agency, Mr Denis Knobel, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Sofia, Mr. Boyko Mirchev, Director-General of the European Affairs Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mrs. Meglena Plugchieva, Ambassador of Bulgaria in Bern.
The idea for the project came from the Bulgarian Embassy in Switzerland and it was carried out thanks to the expert assistance from the Archives State Agency and with the co-operation of the State Institute for Culture. The project has been included in the "Travelling Exhibitions" programme of the State Institute for Culture. It already was officially publicly presented in November at a formal reception at the Bulgarian Embassy in Bern, to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The exhibition includes documents kept in the Central Depository, the archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the archive of the Presidency of the Republic of Bulgaria, which are presented for the first time and which note a number of important moments in Bulgarian-Swiss political, cultural and economic relations from the beginning of the 20th to the beginning of the 21st century. Bulgarian diplomats in Bern and the Swiss diplomats in Sofia are presented, as well as the diplomatic and consular relations between the two countries.
At the initiative of the Bulgarian Embassy in Bern and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a postage stamp with the signature of Louis Ayer and a postmark from the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, validated a month earlier, was shown.
At the ceremony, Mr Denis Knobel, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation, presented the State Archives Agency hosts the book "The Three Lives of Louis Ayer", a joint project by authors Zoya Apostolova, Switzerland's Mark Letau and Svetoslav Stefanov. Professor Mihail Gruev received the "Plaque of Honour" and a certificate marking the 25th annniversary of the Society for Bulgarian-Swiss Friendship "Louis Ayer" - Lom.
Guests at the exhibition included Mr. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Professor Venelin Tsachevski, Zoya Apostolova, Chairman of the Association for Bulgarian-Swiss Friendship "Louis Ayer". The event was also honored by the presence of representatives of the diplomatic corps, the academic community and the media.
At the official opening, the organizers, together with the Bulgarian Red Cross, organised a donation campaign in support of victims of the disaster after the tragic events in the village of Hitrino.
The exhibition will be open to the public until January 13 2017 in the exhibition hall of the Archives State Agency, 5 Moskovska Street.
The next presentation of the exhibition in Bulgaria will take place on May 17, 2017 in Lom, the 123rd anniversary of the arrival of the Swiss gymnastics teachers in Bulgaria, including Louis Ayer, in the Danubian town.