One of the most important institutions in the life of people from the small resort town of Strelcha in central Bulgaria is its cultural community center (an institution known in Bulgarian as “chitalishte” – literal translation – reading place). Founded in 1871, it was one of the first cultural and educational associations that appeared in this country before Bulgaria’s Liberation from the Ottoman Rule in 1878. The community centre is called "Enlightenment" to remind us that its active figures today are actually continuing the mission of the national revival leaders, in service of and for the benefit of their homeland.

The beginning of this public institution was laid by the Apostle of Bulgarian Freedom himself. Vasil Levski came to Strelcha several times – a historical fact that locals mention with pride. On one of these visits, he brought books in his saddlebags and left them in the town with the desire to make there a public reading room where young people would read them. That is how the Enlightenment 1871 Community Centre came to life. It is a great source of pride for the inhabitants of the small mountain town, and this is evident from the imposing chitalishte building located in the central town square.

Today there is no student from Strelcha who has not visited the reading room on the first floor in the building on Druzhba Square. In addition, the community centre has a spacious concert hall, separate dressing rooms, as well as several smaller rooms for rehearsals and social events. “The most characteristic quality of the people in Strelcha is that they are patriots, and that is probably why this small town has existed for centuries. We are also proud of our ancient history, which we can talk about for hours,” explains Mariana Nyagolova, who has been the secretary of the community centre for 25 years now.

"Were it not for the amateur groups in the town and their desire to work, our community centre would not be able to survive. We have more than 150 people involved in amateur art activities in a town of 4,500 permanent residents. Only in the festive event that we organize each year for the town feast at the end of July, more than 100 people take part - from preschoolers to people aged 90. In the years of economic changes in this country, the community centre was faced with a very difficult time. The state had almost abandoned all community centres, and it was only through the work of many dedicated and hard-working people that we were able to preserve the our chitalishte. Despite the shortage of funds and all, our community centre experienced a real renaissance. People started coming, especially the younger ones, with the desire to create new groups. We have many singers and dancers in the town, but we have no musicians so far. Therefore, all the leaders of the groups come and work in Strelcha. For them, the community centre provides small fees so that they can cover their transportation costs. With their participation we have created three singing groups that are at a very high, almost professional level.”

"All the members of our amateur groups are very ambitious in their pursuits," Mariana Nyagolova says, adding:

"The older ones are trying to bring to light forgotten old songs from Strelcha. We have a group that only performs authentic Bulgarian folklore, we also have an ensemble performing old urban songs. People are aware that our financial resources are limited, but we try to get them to perform at one of the major festivals in the country at least once a year, and they also present us abroad. "

English Rossitsa Petcova