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 institution’s announcement of its impending closure. The Czech Centre stated on Monday, “With great sadness, we inform you that, by a decision of the Director General of the Czech Centres network, the Czech Centre in Sofia will be closed and will bring its cultural and educational activities in Bulgaria to an end.” The centre indicated that scheduled events would continue through 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 centre’s 77th anniversary falls on May 5. It noted that on May 5, 1949, 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 Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic as independent states in January 1993, the Czech Republic established the Czech Centres as successors to the former Czechoslovak cultural centres abroad. Given this history, the Academic Council of Sofia University expressed considerable concern regarding the planned closure. The council urged reconsideration of the decision, emphasizing the centre’s deep historical and cultural value and its crucial role in sustaining enduring Czech-Bulgarian cultural ties in Sofia.
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