The mortal remains of King Ferdinand I /1861-1948/, who declared independence in 1908 and is the basis of the modernization and Europeanization of Bulgaria, are returning to his native land to be reburied in the "Vrana" palace he built . This act takes place almost 75 years after his death, reported a BGNES reporter.
King Ferdinand I and Bulgaria
Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg was born on February 26, 1861 in the capital of the Austrian Empire, Vienna. He is a representative of the Catholic branch of the Saxe-Coburg-Gothic dynasty, which in the 19th century ruled several monarchies in Europe - Great Britain, Belgium, Portugal and, from 1887, Bulgaria. His mother, Princess Clementine of Bourbon-Orléans, was the daughter of the last French king, Louis-Philippe. She encouraged his ambition to occupy the Bulgarian throne and invested millions of gold francs in the modernization of Bulgaria.
King Ferdinand I is the only Balkan monarch with such an aristocratic lineage who is both a direct heir of the French King Henri IV and the Austrian Empress Maria-Theresa of Habsburg. He also comes from one of the most ancient German families - the Vitini.
The future Bulgarian ruler was well educated, did research and scientific business trips, discovered birds and plants that bear his name. He reads in 7 languages and writes in 5.
In 1887, Prince Ferdinand became the head of Bulgaria. This is a very difficult period in which the Russian propaganda against him is very strong, and the Western powers do not want to come into conflict with Russia. Crises, conflicts, murders, Stambolov's regime, all this cannot help but reflect on the young prince. Recognition from Russia came only in the mid-1990s, when Crown Prince Boris Turnovsky was baptized in the Orthodox faith, and Russian Emperor Nicholas II was chosen as his godfather.
King Ferdinand I is one of the most controversial figures in our recent history. In the documents of that era, many of his valuable qualities are recognized as a good diplomat, an extremely flexible and skillful politician. And at the same time, a person with painful ambitions - arrogance, high self-esteem sometimes reaching grandomania.
But Tsar Ferdinand I is above all a modernizer, he wants to raise Bulgaria in Europe not only with larger borders, but with the elevation of its institutions. He encouraged the BAS, created the Natural History Museum, the system of royal scientific institutes and museums, encouraged artists and writers, whom he sent abroad with scholarships.
Our country is experiencing an economic boom, railways, factories, ports, public buildings are being built.
This is the balance sheet of a quarter of a century of rule, which was marked in 1912, when the First Balkan War broke out, and Bulgaria, with small interruptions, fought for its national unification until the end of 1918, when it suffered defeat in the First World War.
The adventure of 1913 and subsequent defeat in the Great War would blot out all his achievements. And for a long period of time, the monarch will be blamed for all the troubles of Bulgaria.
The long-awaited return
The director of the Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Prof. Daniel Vachkov, emphasized to BGNES that the return of the mortal remains of King Ferdinand I is a moral issue and an attitude to history, which has finally been cleared of opportunistic emotions. "As with most Bulgarian rulers and heads of state, there were both impressive successes and defeats under King Ferdinand I. But when you allow a person who has left his own name in your history to be buried in the place where he spent most of his life, it is an important moral gesture. This is a sign that Bulgarian society is becoming wiser, that it treats its history with a more balanced attitude. This is a very good decision," he said.
His colleague Nikolay Poppetrov recalled that Tsar Ferdinand I was the Bulgarian ruler for 31 years, was a modernizer, a representative of an elite dynasty and had great merits for the Bulgarian state. "Then why should his bones not be returned to Bulgaria? His two wives - Princess Maria-Louisa in Plovdiv and Tsarina Eleonora in Boyanska church - are buried here, as well as the heart of his son Tsar Boris III. This is a logical act, especially since King Ferdinand I was placed in a temporary tomb in Coburg, which means that his mortal remains must be reburied somewhere," the historian told BGNES. According to him, the choice of a place where the Bulgarian monarch will be buried, namely a chapel in the "Vrana" palace, is perhaps "the most neutral decision".
"Some kind of historical regularity is being restored", believes Nikolay Poppetrov, for whom the struggles in our society about who will be buried or reburied where are "strange".
For a long time, Tsar Ferdinand I was accused of being a "German agent" and the main culprit in the collapse of the national ideal, which prevented his return.
Prof. Vachkov noted that King Ferdinand I, both in his successes and in his failures, was not the only factor that was responsible for them. "Both the ruler and his prime ministers, such as Stambolov, Stoilov, etc., contributed to this impressive period of modernization. The same applies to the consequences of wars. They are not the result of the monarch's decisions alone," the historian stressed.
For Nikolay Poppetrov, Tsar Ferdinand I is above all a European who wants Bulgaria to prosper and have a modern economy and infrastructure connected to Central Europe.
He emphasized that in the process of modernization, the personality of the ruler, especially in Bulgaria, stands out. "The positives that there are should spread to the Bulgarian society. It is easy to single out the king and say, he is only to blame for the bad things, because he was a foreigner, he did not understand us, and we had other tasks and mentality. We must be aware that in many respects King Ferdinand I was subjected to a misunderstanding, a negative attitude, including blackmail by the political forces on key issues, including the national one," said Poppetrov.
Now that the mortal remains of King Ferdinand I have returned, perhaps it is time to rethink his era, to look at the pros and cons, as was done in Austria with the Franz Joseph era.
According to Nikolay Poppetrov, every era has its colors. "In many respects, in the age of King Ferdinand, there are many positives in culture, art, diplomacy, a powerful army is created that won brilliant victories, an economic boom is observed. The task of the historian is to appreciate both the lights and the shadows of history. Perhaps this is the challenge of the return of King Ferdinand I," he believes.
For Prof. Vachkov, when the positive and negative things are put on the scales, obviously during the 31 years in which Tsar Ferdinand I ruled Bulgaria, the positive ones are more strongly represented. /BGNES
