The Academic Council of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski has unanimously endorsed an open letter advocating for the continuation of the Czech Centre in Sofia, following the announcement that the institution will cease its operations in the Bulgarian capital. The Czech Centre stated on Monday that, by decision of the Czech Centres network Director General, the facility would close, marking the end of its cultural and educational activities in Bulgaria.
Planned events are scheduled to continue until the end of May. The Czech Centre in Sofia holds historical significance as the oldest Czech institution of its kind abroad and one of Bulgaria’s longest-running foreign cultural organizations. The center commemorates its 77th anniversary on May 5.
Its origins trace back to May 5, 1949, when an art and craft shop named Ceskoslovenska tvorba Orbis opened at 100 Rakovski Street in Sofia, established under an intergovernmental cultural agreement between Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria (1947) and a related protocol (1948). Following the establishment of the independent Czech Republic and Slovak Republic in January 1993, the Czech Republic established the Czech Centres to succeed the former Czechoslovak cultural centers abroad. Against this backdrop, the Academic Council of Sofia University voiced strong concern regarding the planned closure.
The council urged a reconsideration of the decision, emphasizing the center’s deep historical and cultural importance and its ongoing role in preserving long-standing Czech-Bulgarian cultural relations within Sofia.
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