CHARITY DID NOT BEGIN WITH US, AND IT WILL CONTINUE AFTER US!

Most people associate the town of Lovech with the Covered Bridge, the only structure of such kind in the Balkans. It spans the Osam and was built in 1874-1876 by the Bulgarian master builder Nikola Fichev. Rising proudly above it stands the imposing monument to national hero Vasil Levski. In spring, the Stratesh hill is filled with the scent of lilac.

In this small and beautiful town, 150 years ago, in 1876, the Bulgarian woman Anna Predich-Radoslavova founded the student society Pchela, or Bee, also known as Nauka, or Science. After the members completed their schooling, the society did not cease its activities. It evolved into a young women's society and, from 1888, into the women's society Blagodetel, or Benefactor, with Anna Predich as its chairwoman. The Lovech Women's Society is one of the four oldest in Bulgaria. The others were founded in Lom, Targovishte and Zheleznik.

Anna Predich-Radoslavova was born in Orshova, on the Danube, now in Romania. Time has preserved no information about her year of birth or about her life before her arrival in Bulgaria. Fate led her to Targovishte where she settled with her three children.

A few months after her arrival, local revolutionaries, under the leadership of Angel Kanchev, established a revolutionary committee in Targovishte. Its aim was to fight the oppressor and unite the Bulgarian people. Mihail Hristov Radoslavov was elected chairman of the committee. He was a prominent figure of the Bulgarian National Revival movement and an enlightened public activist, originally from Lovech and descended from a distinguished Lovech family. His brother, Vasil Radoslavov, later became a prominent Bulgarian politician, statesman and Member of Parliament. After Liberation in 1878, he led the Liberal Party from 1887 to 1918 and served twice as Prime Minister of Bulgaria - from 1886 to 1887 and from 1913 to 1918, during the World War I.

Anna Predich saw in Mihail Radoslavov a magnetic personality, deeply concerned with the fate of his people. Captivated by his revolutionary ideals and personal qualities, she fell in love with him and before long they announced their engagement.

As a result of his revolutionary activities and due to betrayal, Mihail Radoslavov fell victim to the Ottoman authorities. Along with him, other members of the revolutionary committee were arrested. Following the sentences issued in 1874, he was sent into three years of exile in Asia Minor.

At the request of her exiled fiancé, Anna Predich travelled to Lovech to care for his ailing father. In Lovech, she began teaching at the Saikov Girls' School in the middle of 1874. Creative by nature, she sought to engage in a wide range of activities. She introduced the young women of Lovech to a world they had not known before, teaching them French, promoting literacy and instilling in them the confidence of independent individuals capable of far more than household work alone. Many of her diligent and ambitious pupils continued their education in Gabrovo.

In Lovech, Anna Predich-Radoslavova became actively involved in the revolutionary movement for freedom. Together with her pupils, she sewed the flag of the Lovech revolutionaries for the planned nationwide uprising. Later, after the April Uprising's tragic end, she organised a broad campaign to collect aid for the population in the affected regions of Southern Bulgaria, repeatedly sending money, clothes and medicines.

Alongside her patriotic work and her activities at the school, she was closely connected with the progressive educational reforms taking place in the town as a whole.

After the Liberation of Bulgaria and the amnesty granted to Bulgarian exiles in Ottoman fortresses and prisons, Mihail Radoslavov returned to Lovech and married Anna. Together they devoted themselves to educational and public work in the town.

Anna Predich died on 30 June 1892. Her life and work remain embedded forever in the history of Lovech and in the memory of its citizens. Her educational and charitable activities are held in high esteem. She left a deep mark in the hearts of many young women who discovered their place in society and, like her, succeeded in working for the enlightenment of young Bulgarians. Anna stands as a shining example of a devoted woman, both in love and in her charitable endeavours. In her we see the outline of a modern, emancipated Bulgarian woman who knew what she wanted and how to fight to achieve it. She stopped at nothing in order to build something that transcends the barriers of time, reaching us as an echo from the past, resounding with impressive strength and reminding us of the invaluable legacy left by Anna Predich.

As a sign of deep gratitude and respect, she was laid to rest in the church of Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Lovech. Deeper within the ivy clad courtyard stands a marble monument bearing her photograph.

After the Liberation War, the society was chaired by the teacher Maria Kornazova. From 1888 onwards, it bore the name Blagodetel. Its purpose was to support poor boys and girls in their education and to care for the intellectual and moral development of its members. In time, its aims expanded and became focused on improving the position of women in every respect, including the opening of vocational schools and educational courses. In order to achieve these goals, lectures and talks were organised on pedagogy, handicrafts and household management, along with performances and social evenings, as well as lotteries and donation campaigns.

After 1888, the society established a vocational school attended by girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 1902, it opened a Sunday women's school and continued its charitable work for the poor and the sick, sending aid to refugees from Macedonia and Thrace. During the years of war from 1912 to 1918, its efforts were directed towards collecting clothes and parcels for soldiers at the front. Afterwards, the society focused its activities on supporting war invalids and orphans, as well as assisting the free school canteen opened in the town in 1915.

In 1905, the society became a member of the Bulgarian Women's Union. It began working actively for women's civil and political rights. To raise funds, charitable balls were organised, which became traditional at Christmas, Lazarus Saturday, garden festivities on St Peter's Day, tea dances, masked balls and many other events. The society also arranged numerous courses to enrich the household knowledge and skills of the women of Lovech. The charitable balls held on the eve of Epiphany on 6 January, declared after 1911 as the official celebration of the Lovech Women's Society, became true celebrations of modern and culinary art.

Recognising that small acts of charity could not remedy the great social ills, and also facing the need for their own premises, the committee adopted the idea of building a dedicated home, establishing in 1924 a fund for a home for the elderly. After much effort by prominent citizens of Lovech and the Member of Parliament St. Nikiforov, in 1926 the National Assembly granted 700 square metres of state-owned vacant land for the charitable home. Construction began in 1927, funded entirely by donations from the people of Lovech. In the autumn of 1930, the home opened its doors as a school canteen and boarding house for young women.

A few years later, a Girls' Craft School was established within the home, offering a three-year course with a tuition fee of 1,300 leva per year. By decision of the committee, many poor girls were exempted from fees. The school quickly gained a strong reputation and, for many years until its closure and the seizure of its property in 1945, it trained exceptional housekeepers.

Officially, by court decision on 10 March 1951, the activities of the Lovech Women's Society Blagodetel, along with all women's societies in the country, were terminated. They were absorbed into the Fatherland Front as the Women's Movement. Over the years, and with subsequent political changes, the diverse and noble work of the Blagodetel society faded into obscurity. Even the building, constructed with so much effort and dedication, no longer exists.

On 11 May 1995, the founding meeting was held to re-establish the Lovech Women's Society Blagodetel, coinciding with the town's annual celebration. Since then, members of the society have sought to honour the legacy of their predecessors. The society has continued to organise charitable events, with the current focus on supporting disadvantaged children – orphans and half-orphans, as well as school-leavers and pupils facing financial hardship.

On 25 April 1996, the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Lovech Women's Society Blagodetel was celebrated with a charitable concert held at the Lovech Community Centre "Nauka-1870". Since then, every year on the Feast of the Annunciation, a charitable ball has been held to raise funds for supporting disadvantaged children and those facing financial hardship.

From 2024 onwards, the society has organised charitable concerts, which have proven to be a more popular option for the citizens and donors of Lovech.

This year, on 23 March, the Lovech Women's Society Blagodetel will celebrate its 150th anniversary. The current members of the society are immensely proud to be contemporaries of this significant milestone. Through a programme of events, they aim to show the citizens of Lovech that there is much to be proud of, to keep alive the spirit of goodness and charity in the town, and to pass on to future generations the ideas and achievements of the women from whom they have learned, ensuring that the history of Blagodetel is preserved and continued.

You can help them by donating on BG35STSA93000006878894, DSK Bank.