Gabriela Hadzikostova: Bulgarians in Hungary enjoy great respect

An actress born in Sofia in the family of Liliana Kisyova and Konstantin Hadzsikostov, extremely popular Bulgarian artists of the second half of the last century, Gabriella Hadzsikosztova has lived in Budapest for more than 40 years. Her husband is a famous director, they have their own theater. Hadzсikostova was awarded the Golden Cross of Honor of the Republic of Hungary for merits in the field of culture.

Gabriella has been an active member of the Bulgarian community in Budapest, which, under the Minorities Act in Hungary of 1995, has an elected governing body called the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government. All minorities on the territory of Hungary have such self-governments and their institutions are financed through them, with the state ensuring the preservation of the cultural autonomy of these minorities. Gabriela is the deputy chairwoman of the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government – something like a municipality in Bulgaria.

The legacy of the Bulgarian emigrants in Hungary celebrated in Budapest

"Our community is more special than other Bulgarian communities abroad because it is very organized", Gabriella explains. "It has its own institutions, governing bodies. It is considered a historical community in Hungary, as it has had a presence in the country for over 100 years. And thanks to this, a very rich cultural life is bubbling here. Bulgarians in Hungary owe perhaps everything – the foundation of everything that has been built and is being built over the years, mainly to the Bulgarian gardeners who came after the Chiprovtsi Uprising (1688) and the last wave of migration began in 1860. We are talking about such an old community! They have realized that in order to survive as a community, they need to build a system of institutions through which to preserve their identity.

Members of the Society of Bulgarians in Hungary

It was these gardeners who created the foundation of the most important Bulgarian institutions, which still function very successfully today. This is, for example, the Society of Bulgarians in Hungary, which is one of the first civilian organizations on the territory of Hungary and perhaps the only one with a continuous history. And it provides the basis for our entire cultural life."

Church of St. St. Cyril and Methodius built in 1932

In 1918, the Bulgarians founded a school, in 1932 with their own donations they built the church "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", in 1957 with donations from 445 gardener families a Cultural House was built, which is one of the most important centers of the community. There, our compatriots celebrate all the important traditional holidays: Babinden, Trifonovden, Bulgaria's National Day March 3, March 8, Easter, St. George's Day, the Day of Bulgarian Letters and Literature May 24 - on which they organize a large gathering in the church yard for all Bulgarians from all over Hungary, Unification, Independence Day... The day of Saint Demetrius (Dimitrovden) is perhaps the most important holiday for Bulgarians in Hungary, because it is the holiday of gardeners. After World War II, these families settled permanently in Hungary. And today we are already talking about the fifth generation of Bulgarian emigrants, which preserves the traditions, the language and is very united.

Bulgarians in Budapest celebrate the Day of the Bulgarian Alphabet

Bulgarians in Budapest have a school, a kindergarten, a research institute, a documentation center, a theater - the only professional Bulgarian theater abroad, which is registered under the law on theaters in Hungary. They also have a library, a gallery, a newspaper "Bulgarian News" - a monthly information publication, as well as a bilingual magazine for culture and public life - "Hemus", founded in 1991. The dance groups are very popular.

Bulgarian children come to perform Bulgarian folk dances in the hall of the Cultural Center every Friday. Gabriella Hadzsikostova, who works with a staff of nearly 20 people, is responsible for organizing all cultural and educational events throughout the year.

The new Bulgarian cultural educational center

"We have now all moved into a new building that opened its doors last year, on May 25. It was built with 90 percent financing from the Hungarian state and 10 percent assistance from the Bulgarian state. All our institutions are now housed here: a kindergarten, a school, a library, a theater, an art gallery. It is huge - 3,600 square meters of developed area, and the good thing is that it is located right next to the church and opposite the Cultural Center. We Bulgarians like to say that we have built a little Bulgaria in one of the districts of Budapest, where the wholesale market used to be and where gardeners sold their goods. Previously, it was a bit of a peripheral district, now it is almost in the center of the city. The chairman of our republican self-government is Dancho Musev – a lawyer, an extremely erudite, far-sighted person, with an eye fixed on the future," says Gabriella Hadzsikostova excitedly.

Most members of the Bulgarian self-government in Budapest are descendants of the Bulgarian gardener families. But the emigration wave did not end with the arrival of the gardeners. Migration continues to this day, there are many families with mixed marriages, Hungarian universities are popular among young Bulgarians, says Gabriela Hadzsikostova.

"A part of the Bulgarian intelligentsia has chosen Hungary as a second homeland with the hope of better realization. This entire community treats the inherited cultural values with respect and care and I can boldly claim that the Bulgarians in Hungary have not only a glorious past but also a stable future. Bulgarians in Hungary enjoy great respect. Being a Bulgarian here sounds very proud. In many places in Budapest there are streets called "Bulgarian Gardener", "Bulgarian Fountain". In one of the largest markets, where the stock exchange was located, a large fountain was built in memory of the Bulgarian gardeners and after this initiative, local Bulgarians organized themselves in other districts of Budapest and also built public fountains in several places. In this way, we promote ourselves among the Hungarian population, because whenever a person stops to drink water or sees a fountain, they start reading the inscription that it was built by the Bulgarian community in memory of Bulgarian gardeners and with respect to them".

In addition to the Republican self-governance, there are also local Bulgarian self-governments in Hungary in the cities where Bulgarians live: Debrecen, Miskolc, Sopron, Pécs, Seget. In Budapest itself, in every district where Bulgarians live, there are also such local self-governments. All of them are financed by the Hungarian state - from the first to the last penny the state finances the cultural life and education not only of Bulgarians, but of all minorities: Greek, Serbian, Croatian, German, Ukrainian, Slovenian, Polish... The Hungarian authorities do not call them minorities, but nationalities and each nationality has the right by law to form its own elected governing body. Through them, the state provides subsidies so that they can distribute them among their institutions and use them to spread their culture. According to Gabriella Hadzsikostova, this model has no analogue in the whole world.

A tradition in Budapest is the gala concert for the national holiday of Bulgaria on March 3.

"There is always a solemn concert and the Bulgarians in Hungary celebrated the Liberation long before it became a national holiday in Bulgaria," says Gabriela Hadzsikostova. "This is a very old tradition. On this day, the over 100-year-old flag of the Society of Bulgarians in Hungary is introduced into the hall. Then the anthems of the two nations are played, the Bulgarian ambassador gives a speech, local leaders also, and then the gala concert begins. We invite guests mainly from Bulgaria. The Eva Quartet, Teodosii Spasov, the Wladigeroff Trio, and the Aqua-Delia Choir have been here."