The funeral of Gustav Stresemann - photos in the Bulgarian press, reflecting the funeral of the great German politician of the interwar period, Dr. Gustav Stresemann, 1929.
Source. X, no. 4, Sofia, 24 Oct 1929, pp. 1-2
The grave of Peyo Yavorov - the statue of the sculptor Iv. Lazarov on the grave of the Bulgarian poet P. К. Dedication of the monument to Yavorov, 15 years after his death.
Source. X, no. 4, Sofia, 24 Oct 1929, pp. 1, Politics, Year. X, no. 5, Sofia, 1 November 1929, p. 1. 1
The grave of Marin Drinov is located in Sofia. The purpose of this brief reference is to present the state in which he is today.
Marin Drinov was born in 1838 in Panagyurishte, at that time still in the Ottoman Empire. He died in 1906 in the city of Kharkov, then in the Russian Empire. Drinov is considered one of the founders of scientific Bulgarian historiography. Marin Drinov carried out much of his research in Russia. Along with his key role in the formation of modern Bulgarian science, Drinov was also an active participant in the first steps in the construction of the new Bulgarian statehood in the period 1877-1879. Initially he advised the Tsar-Liberator Alexander II. Between 1878 and 1879 Marin Drinov was already in charge of the Department for National Education and Spiritual Affairs within the Provisional Russian Government of Bulgaria. This was the prototype of the future Bulgarian Ministry of Education. In this period Drinoff actively participated in the construction of the state structure of the Third Bulgarian State. Marin Drinov was one of the drafters of the Tarnovo Constitution. On his proposal Sofia was designated to become the new capital of the restored Bulgarian state.
Marin Drinov died in Russia but was buried in the Central Cemetery Park in Sofia. His grave is in Plot No. 44, where some of the most prominent figures of Bulgarian entrepreneurship, politics, military work, but especially of science and culture have found eternal peace. Let us mention only the names of colossi in our national spiritual life such as Krastyo Sarafov (1876-1952), Lazar Dobrich (1881-1970), Konstantin Kisimov (1897-1965), Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978), Leo Conforti (1911-1970), Margarita Duparinova (1921-2005), Apostol Karamitsev (1923-1973), Grigor Vachkov (1932-1980) and many others.
A few years ago, in 2016, on the initiative of the Kiparis Mourning Agency, Anamnesis magazine took a picture of the state of the grave of the great Bulgarian historian. Due to his unfortunate condition at that time, we limited ourselves to publishing only one photo, which you can see on the HISTORICAL PORTAL website. The photo shows the traditional cemetery eyesores - stolen metal letters, disheveled slabs, dirt, etc. Last week, the Kiparis Mourning Agency again photographed the actual condition of the grave and was pleasantly surprised by the improvements. Marin Drinov's grave has been cleaned, the slabs repaired, the letters restored. We publish the photos below.
The Romanian soldiers' cemeteries in Sofia, as well as the Serbian ones, represent an interesting place of memory of the First World War. They are located in the Central Sofia Cemetery. Today they are relatively well maintained. As well as the Serbian ones. there are also directional signs to them so they are not difficult to find.
"The Cemetery of Heroes in Sofia is one of the eight Romanian soldiers' cemeteries in Bulgaria. Their list can be found on the official website of the Romanian National Office for the Tribute to Heroes (ONCE).
It seems that the Romanian Soldiers' Cemetery in Sofia was established in 1920 by the Romanian community in Sofia. According to a contemporary source - lista-prizonierilor-romani-sofia-bulgaria 253 soldiers who died in Bulgarian captivity are buried there. At the same time, there are reports of 400 soldiers who died as a result of the Second Balkan War and the First World War.
A commemorative monument was erected in the Romanian War Cemetery. It stands on a common tomb. It is made of a massive stone block in the shape of an obelisk. An eagle is mounted on top, holding a laurel wreath in its talons.
The Cemetery of Romanian Heroes in Sofia was restored with the financial support of the National Office for the Tribute to Heroes (ONCE).
In conclusion, we recall the poems of the great Bulgarian poet Dimcho Debelyanov:
He is no longer our enemy
- the living from the enemies
a tumultuous wave swept them
somewhere towards the opposite shore.
Here, in the slurred syllable
he lay still pale
with resigned sorrow
gazing into the vault clear and deep.
And on the grey land,
Warmed by the caresses of the south,
flutter timid and unnecessary
blood-spattered letters.
Who is he and where has he been?
Whose call brought him to us,
in a day of victories
to die undefeated?
[...]
And under the enemy's banner
was preparing for us mercy?
- No, he took what was coming to him,
the dead is not our enemy!
Below we present you photos showing the present state of the cemetery.
The Serbian Soldiers' Cemetery in Sofia is an interesting place of remembrance of the First World War. They are located in the Central Sofia Cemetery Park. Today they are well maintained. There are also directional signs to them, so they are not difficult to find.
During the First World War there were tens of thousands of Serbian prisoners of war and internees from the Serbian territories occupied by Bulgaria. This issue is not well studied in historiography. Certainly, however, not a few of them died in the country. Therefore, after the end of the First World War, negotiations between Sofia and Belgrade began for the establishment of Serbian war cemeteries in Bulgaria. One of the results of these negotiations was the establishment of the Serbian Soldiers' Cemetery in Sofia. Later, the Bulgarians managed to convince the Serbian side to exhume all Serbian dead on the territory of the country and rebury them in Sofia. In connection with the apparent improvement of relations between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after 1934, this was agreed in 1936, but there was no time to implement it. World War II broke out and Serbian graves around the country were left without maintenance.
Serbian soldiers who died in the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), prisoners of war and internees during the First World War (1915-1918) are buried in the Serbian Soldiers' Cemetery in Sofia. The area of the memorial complex is 1200 sq. m.
At the top there are 480 graves with wooden crosses. In 1923 the memorial complex was in a very bad condition, looted by the Sofia poor. Thanks to the Serbian poet Milan Rakic, who was ambassador in Sofia, data on the buried were collected. The number of the buried rose to 638. Serious funds were also raised for a new look of the memorial complex. It was opened in 1928 on Vidovdan, i.e. 28 June. The design was by the Belgrade architect Dusan Mirosavljevic. The present-day appearance of the Serbian soldiers' cemetery dates back to that time. The memorial complex has been renovated several times since then. The Serbian Embassy in Sofia regularly lays wreaths and organizes commemorative ceremonies.
Photos.
Funeral agency prices is one of the popular Google searches. For the convenience of customers, we will summarize here some of the common price offers in Sofia and make a brief comment.
When you search for funeral prices on search engines you will be shown different prices. We start from the lowest. They may come up as social funerals, extreme prices, cheap funeral prices, prices for ordinary funerals, funeral for Sofia with all inclusive arrangements. The amounts range from £250 to £500. There are also intermediate options for about 300-350 BGN. These offers plus advertisements of the "lowest prices" type are fully justified in view of the social situation in the country, but people should examine very carefully what is obtained for these sums. You may end up having to pay a lot more.
The real low price for a decent, but tailored to more limited financial opportunities, funeral is about 700-750 leva.
Suggestions for more expensive funerals also vary widely. Read carefully what these offers include. If something is not clear, do not hesitate to ask. Good funeral agencies are also distinguished by the fact that they do not hesitate to answer questions politely and carefully. Prices usually vary. There is virtually no upper limit. An excellently organised funeral can be done for around £1,700, with the package to include a church service, provision of a free new grave site. You should definitely ask if this is a real end price, with no hidden fees or mark-ups.
When searching on the internet, look at the reviews for the respective funeral agency. Compare these reviews with the information on the funeral agency websites. Ask your relatives and friends for their personal experiences. Read carefully everything that is included in the relevant quote.
A coffin and a casket are the two different things offered by funeral agencies in the USA.
The most obvious difference is their appearance: the chests and coffins are shaped differently.
When most US people imagine a funeral, they see a casket. This is because the casket is used in most funerals in the United States. Therefore, the distinction between "casket" and "coffin" is especially important for families who live in the United States.
A casket is a specially designed box made for the body of a deceased person. It is usually used during a funeral to display the body of the deceased. Then, if the family has not chosen cremation, the casket with the body, is lowered into the ground during the funeral ceremony.
As a rule, the chest is rectangular by American standards. It has metal pipes on both sides to carry it.
Today, caskets are much more popular in the United States than coffins. The term itself has been around since the second half of the nineteenth century. That's when funeral agency owners began using "casket" as a way to soften their terminology and somehow create more tenderness in communicating with bereaved family members. This is because in English the word "casket" is actually used in the sense of "jewel box".
A curious detail is that today in the US, a "crate" can even be ordered at some "warehouse retail" type supermarkets like COSTCO.
In the United States, coffins are generally hexagonal in shape. They are wider at the top than at the bottom. These are the big external differences with so-called "chests".Usually in westerns, when the action takes place in the 1800s, it is coffins that the audience sees.
Outside the English-speaking countries outside the USA, the term "coffin" is widely used, as in Bulgaria.
The funeral procession of King Boris III is one of the most memorable manifestations of mass grief in the modern history of Bulgaria. The reasons are many and this is not the place to analyse them. The purpose of this short post is only to present a quote from a police report published in the scientific literature. The post also includes a relatively unknown drawing by the great Bulgarian artist Konstantin Shrkelyov, dedicated to the death of the monarch.
"Nikola Geshev received on 6.IX. the following report about the funeral procession:
"I bring it to your attention, Mr. Chief, that I have been tasked with a group of 5 scouts... guarding the Blvd. "Tsar Liberator" from the street. "Rakovski" to ul. "Benkovski" opposite the Russian Church, on the occasion of the funeral procession of N. В. Boris III.
The area was surveyed at 4 t.m., and all scouts were assigned the locations they should occupy at 5 t.m. I received the declarations of the persons who would be in the buildings comprising my area during the procession. The following buildings were included: ul. "The marchers included in the march were: '96 Rakovski Blvd. "8, 8a and 10. On 5.t.m. at 6 o'clock all the scouts, decently dressed, coiffed and shaved, appeared at the appointed place. I commenced an inspection of the persons present in the apartments and it was found that the persons present in the apartments were recorded in the statements previously distributed to them. I also checked the shops and restaurants."
"Before 6 o'clock the people had stood on the flagstones, and gradually the flagstones were filled with people who humbly awaited the passing of the procession. At the appearance of the remains of H.V. King the whole people began to wail, and scarcely ceased when the deputies had passed.
After that, together with the group, I went to the front of the police headquarters, from where we went by cars to the Blvd. "Hristo Botev" to the train station and took our newly assigned places on the boulevard. "Hristo Botev", the corner "Radovish" between the people. And here the people met with humility the remains of N. В. King and sent them away with lamentations.
No incidents with citizens were noted during the funeral procession. The police behaved well and also the scouts entrusted to me behaved very well with the citizenry and no incident was recorded.
Annex: the declarations.
Group leader: Ivan Bozhilov."
Source. King Boris III. Biography. S., 2004, pp. 426-427
A good funeral agency? How to find out which are the good funeral agencies given that the choice of funeral services is large?
Many people understand a good funeral agency to be an honest funeral agency. By honest, they often mean an agency that does not take advantage of people's grief to make a quick buck. It seems that money is not actually a factor in the search for a good funeral agency, although of course, given the social realities of the country, it is important when choosing a funeral agency. Rather, people look for honesty, empathy, sensitivity and respect.
Naturally, there is hardly a single answer to this question. But certain guidelines can be given.
First of all, when looking at prices, it should be borne in mind that excessively low prices may end up transferring too many paperwork obligations and waiting for administrative services to burden the bereaved unnecessarily at a difficult time. In short, ask exactly what the price includes and what you are expected to do.
Secondly, it is always a good idea to work with a funeral agency that has its own office where you can meet the employees and find out through personal contact whether they give you the proper fair treatment and respect.
Thirdly, a recommendation from friends and family for a funeral agency is always a big plus. In this field, the personal moment is very strong and it cannot be compensated for by marketing and good internet positioning alone. The latter is of course important, but not decisive. Therefore ask relatives and friends for a recommendation.
Finally, of course, you can also get your bearings from the comments, which can most often be found on Google Maps for the respective funeral agency. Naturally, the opinions may be fake, but still such a reference is not superfluous.
Crematoria are specially constructed buildings with a furnace that is used for cremating the dead. In some countries, a crematorium may also be an open-air cremation site. In many countries, crematoria have facilities for funeral ceremonies, such as a chapel, for example. Some crematoria also include a columbarium, which is a place to store the ashes of the deceased.
There are three crematoria in Bulgaria. They are in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna. The oldest one is in Sofia. For a long time it was the only one on the Balkans. Sofia Crematorium is located in the Central Cemetery Park and is a joint venture with private capital and municipal participation. The Sofia Crematorium is the oldest on the Balkan Peninsula.
Since 2003 the crematorium has been completely reconstructed and renovated. New crematorium ovens have been built, manufactured and delivered from the Czech Republic, fully automated. The entire cremation process is fully compliant with European Union standards.
The crematorium is managed by Sofia Crematorium JSC.
These are capital offenses. A cremation permit is also required, which is issued by a GP or freelance doctor. Proof of the right to request the cremation of a close relative is required through a civil marriage certificate, birth certificate of the deceased's children, a certificate of consanguinity or lineal descent upon proof of no lineal heirs
Cremation is carried out with a cremation permit or with a notarized personal will for cremation, which may be in one sentence "I wish to be cremated after my death".