The Spiritual Temple next to the Sanctuary of Salvation

In 1850, the residents of Perushtitsa built a representative building for a school for their children. Worthy of it, they invited Hristo G. Danov (1828-1911) as the first teacher – a well-known figure for his literary and publishing activities as a Renaissance intellectual. During his three years of patriotic service, he managed to prepare future educators, church workers, and participants in the national liberation movement in the prosperous village. Hence, in history, it remains known as “Danov’s School.”

The school “Sts. Cyril and Methodius,” or the so-called Danov School in Perushtitsa, was built by master builders from Pazardzhik in 1850 in the courtyard of the church “St. Archangels Michael and Gabriel” with materials left over from its completion, as well as with the voluntary labor of the residents of Perushtitsa. Architecturally, the building belongs to the so-called “Plovdiv symmetric house” style with a post-and-beam structure. The mixed construction provides stability to the building and protects it from collapse and fire during the hostilities in April 1876. The color of the facade is influenced by the Orient and carries symbolic significance as a humanitarian building.

The columns and other architectural elements depicted on the facade in the interior, in the style of “alafranga,” are defined as the typical decoration of public buildings and wealthy homes during the Revival period. On the pediment and above the door under the covered entrance, two mural compositions are seen with a style close to that of the Samokov School (building a spatial composition, stylistics of the images, attitude towards the silhouette). The first mural represents two dormant lions, corresponding to the national affiliation of the building and its humane orientation. In the field above the entrance door to the second floor, the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius are depicted holding a staff, a symbol of spiritual authority, and an open book with the initial phrase from the Gospel of John.

Art Gallery in Danov’s School

In 1969, as the director of the Historical Museum in Perushtitsa, Dimitar Stanchev established a separate fund called the “Art Gallery” with works by Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Dimitar Kirov, Kolyu Vitkovski, Encho Pironkov, alongside the existing departments of history, archaeology, ethnography, and library. In the designated three-part hall in the basement of the Danov School, temporary and guest exhibitions of valuable Bulgarian authors such as Prof. Dobri Dobrev, Jordan Velchev, Vihra Grigorova, Svetlozar Chavdarov, Eli Stancheva, Nikola Dikov, Evgeniya Panchova, and many others, who work in various genres and techniques of visual arts, have been organized since then. The donated artworks by these artists complement the museum’s collection and enrich its holdings.

In 2014, the National Donor Fund “13 Centuries of Bulgaria” added 72 works created in the 20th century – sculptures, prints, paintings, and copies of miniatures by Bulgarian and foreign artists. In 2018, the collection of the Historical Museum was supplemented with 23 lithographs by the late Hristo Neykov, provided free of charge by his heir Neyko Neykov.

Author: Nevena Chavdarova