Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

The first Bulgarian radio broadcasts for foreign audience - an experiment of enthusiasts

Photo: library

"Seeing that shortwave broadcasts are already developing in the world, a group of enthusiastic Bulgarian technicians decided to build a shortwave transmitter for experimental purposes and to broadcast a program in Bulgarian abroad. Initially, they were punished for their initiative, but later they were given state orders for their courageous endeavor. Thus, the researcher of the history of radio in Bulgaria, Prof. Veselin Dimitrov, describes the beginning of the broadcasts for abroad, which the Bulgarian radio began in the remote 1936. For the entire period of 85 years of its existence, Radio Bulgaria has plenty to tell about itself, but also to pay tribute to a whole galaxy of people who dedicated their lives for it.

"This radio looks like something completely out of the ordinary back then. It was born to convince us that it is on the navel of space. As the world was stubbornly divided into enemies, radio waves crossed the trenches of hatred. The radio taught us not to hate", says in his memoirs the legendary figure in the Air Force Petar Uvaliev, who in the second half of the 1930s was preparing the Italian-language broadcasts of the Bulgarian radio. His voice, as well as that of other emblematic personalities related to the history of the foreign language broadcasts of the Bulgarian National Radio, can be heard in the publication "Radio Bulgaria - the voice of Bulgaria across the world".

Edited by Elena Karkalanova

English version Rositsa Petkova




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The Radio Sofia building

When the BNR “spoke” Polish

Today, the Bulgarian National Radio’s foreign language service Radio Bulgaria “speaks” 11 languages. Through the years, languages have been added, others have been dropped – something that happened to the Polish-language programmes. They were aired by..

published on 2/16/24 7:10 AM

105th anniversary of the birth of legendary piper Dafo Trendafilov

On this day - 17 January - we celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of the legendary piper Dafo Trendafilov . He was born in 1919 in the village of Gela in the Rhodope Mountains and his whole life remains forever linked to this mystical land. He began..

published on 1/17/24 7:40 AM

Albena Danailova - Second concertmaster for the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert

Bulgarian violinist Albena Danailova is the first assistant to concertmaster Rainer Honeck in the New Year's concert of the Vienna Philharmonic on January 1, 2024. Conductor will be Christian Thielemann . Albena..

published on 12/29/23 3:25 PM