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During his life abroad everybody outlives the things in his own way in accordance with his own spiritual constitution. It seems to me, that these first lines are the basis on which the personal dignity and the social-scientific importance of each personality would spring up and on which all subsequent pages of this study will be devoted. I am mentioning this on purpose. Because much earlier than me deeply grateful city, municipal and school administrations have thought to take utmost steps in order to manifest the respect of whole Bulgaria to the considerable contribution in the field of education and scientific-research work, which doctor Konstantin Irechek (Konstantin Jireček) left to our country. It seems to me appropriate here to quote an address submitted to Konstantin Irechek by the municipality and the public of Sliven town related to his final departure from the country: „We grieve, that you leave our fatherland, for which you had worked as a real son and which had its energetic worker; but on the other hand we seek consolation with the hope, that you will not forget our country when living close to the silver-foamy Valtava river and at the disposal of the comfort and the means, which the society and progress offer you, you will continue to make happy our literary heritage with your scientific works, which will be a monument more lasting than metal for us and our generation”.
When I made the adequate reference in Internet, I was really surprised. It occurred that there is no city or big town, which had not named its central street after the name of doctor Konstantin Irechek! Among them are Sofia, Plovdiv, Rousse, Kazanlak, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Varna, Yambol, Svishtov, Balchik, Vidin, Bourgas, Gabrovo etc. I cannot pass also the fact that 56-th secondary school holds with pride his name. A peak in Rila mountain - as well. Grateful Bulgaria has named after his name a village – Irechekovo, municipality Kavarna. In the spring of 2007 on the façade of the Building for Czech-Bulgarian and Slovakian friendship in our marine capital a memorial plate of Konstantin Irechek was unveiled solemnly. All these data we cannot and we should not refer to the pure statistics. Simply because they are sufficiently exciting and well-deserved evidences that doctor Konstantin Irechek is one of the few in number foreigners, to whom a completely deserved respect by the whole country was given. That’s why nobody has ever called in question the fact that up to the current days his name is with an invariable constant value regarding the popularity. Which in fact is a proof for his fundamental administrative, scientific and educational activity on our land. We should also point out that he is far from those Christian cultural beams, who are trying to purify our difficult life destiny through compassion. Neither of the people, being flattered by the role they are playing as political soft-spoken and social charming persons.
In the row of these thoughts for the life and work of doctor Konstantin Irechek in Bulgaria there is something more amazing. This fully deserved appreciation towards his indisputable merits, related to serious efforts in the establishment of the foundations of the Bulgarian educational deeds and scientific-pedagogical thought has been received after he has lived in our country only about five years! For this so short term he has not occupied only high governmental posts. And he has not lived as a prince from the time of Sheherezada. But he has strived wholeheartedly to solve real problems in the period after the Liberation of Bulgaria, when everything around him was raging, boiling and bubbling from different social-political passions, elevated patriotic feelings and humiliating burning to ashes regarding their pettiness scufflings for power. But, above all Irechek puts the emerged in his life extreme /in his historical importance/ opportunity for study and analysis, which he definitely clearly formulates: „What we saw here in Bulgaria was new, during the ages once a new country was being born”. His estimation is exact – he really comes in a fateful moment at which the Bulgarian history throws once and forever the five-centuries old dusty and resentful past. That’s why the work of Konstantin Irechek left forever so deep traces in our country.
On the other hand further more important circumstance is available. I would name it a phenomenon. Because in the development and the establishment of the Bulgarian educational deed in practice participate a considerable number of Czechs. This is also an issue, which expects its future research workers. Over the grounds of the Czech Slavophilism, emerging into life in the name of the rejection of the foreign slavery, part of the Czech cultural elite comes in newly liberated Bulgaria in order to create freely without political “muzzle”. This stratum of intellectuals – carrier of the European view for history and culture – succeeds fully in their undertakings and intentions, leaving a lasting and bright trace in the Bulgarian educational, cultural and spiritual development. It will be sufficient to point out even only one fact like this, that in a number of Bulgarian secondary schools in the first years after the Liberation Czechs have been lecturers. And in order not to be groundless, we will list the most famous representatives: during the school year 1880/1881 in the Plovdiv secondary school Ludvik Lukash, Ivan Markvicka, Vaclav Dobruski and Karel Schkorpil have taught. In the same period in the Sliven secondary school Anton Shourek has taught and in the following two years he was joined by Todor Monin, Vladislav Shak, Josif Horachek and Ivan Kadlec. In the opened in 1879 state high school for boys in Sofia teachers have been Ivan Brojka, Ivan Chermak, Karl Franc, Hasha Franc, Ferdinand Cherhovski, Yaroslav Veshin and Otto Horeishi. The list of the Czech lecturers should be continued by the names of Ivan Nemec /a teacher in Gabrovo/, A. Bosnar /a teacher in Gabrovo/, Ivan Marek /a teacher in Lom/, Ignat Irasek /a teacher in Lom/, V. Emler /a teacher in Varna/, V. Marshalek /a teacher in Varna/, Anton Shpulak /a teacher in Kustendil/, Bohuslav Gregora /a teacher in Tzaribrod and in Dupnitza/. Having received solid education in the Czech higher schools, these teachers assisted in the establishment of traditions in our secondary schools for deep study of the separate subjects. For the high level of education, conducted by them, apparent is the fact that most of them write textbooks and issue methodological guidelines. A great number of these Czech teachers later became professors in the Sofia University and in the Art Academy. Their eminent representatives, who later began scientific-research and cultural activity, were the brothers Hermengild and Karel Shkorpil, Vaclav Dobruski, Ivan Markvicka, Yaroslav Veshin etc.
But undoubtedly there is one Czech intellectual who might be positioned high above his compatriots, giving his utmost contribution to the development of the Bulgarian educational and scientific-research deed in the first five years after the Liberation. He succeeded to build basis, which assigned him a place in the future. His name, as we mentioned above is widely known in our country, because he is doctor Konstantin Irechek. It is difficult to list all his initiatives, which he realized in our country, but we have to mention at least some of them, since he is the man, who changes the administrative division in the country in school regions; he exerted efforts for the building of secondary schools in Sofia and Lom; announced officially the necessity of establishing secondary professional and agricultural schools; he initiates the opening of pedagogical schools and he is the first one to organize in our country summer qualification pedagogical courses. Together with all this he is the author of a number of draft laws /which later were adopted by the National Assembly/, more than one instructions, recommendations and ordinances for the development of the educative work; he is the inspirer for the establishment of the Education Council to the Ministry of public education; thanks to his utmost cares the National library and the Museum to it became cultural institutions of national importance. By his whole beneficial activity Irechek proves unambiguously, that it is a complete waste of time to make something below par. Or in other words: his stay in Bulgaria was a manifestation of a notable career, which from its professional beginning had progressed in one direction - upwards. That’s why everybody, who tries to trace the life and the works of a given personality, should start from his real actions, which became a starting point, following the path of a detailed study. In the spirit of these thoughts we should raise also the question – which people do we call decent? Apparently they are those people who work nonstop, produce with their labour real and useful things, who are not unsoundly ambitious, and rich - never. Namely they support with their whole heart the human values like correctness, ethics, morality, respect to others. They are the people for whom we generally say that they enrich the social humus. And whose aims give energy and meaning not only to their existence.
It seems to me that the research workers of Irechek often “dissect”, figuratively speaking his vast written, historical and educational heritage, as well as his state-organizational style of work in our country into separate elements. I am far from the thought to affirm that such a scientific approach is incorrect. But for me personally it seems, that it cannot revoke or replace the synthetic study of his life and deed as a whole. Because, besides all things said up to now, this is, as we will be further convinced, a destiny of a person, who has never strived towards the glory, money and the honours. We could not afford to add that the conditions, in which Irechek worked in Bulgaria were quite specific – the revival of the nation has outrun the process of formation of a solid in qualitative and quantitative aspect the social-political and scientific elite. Konstantin Irechek has not caught only these trends, typical for the quick and deep changes in the social life of the country. But he has strived to direct and correct, in accordance with his capabilities, the growth in volume and in quality of the science and education after the Liberation, to give a definitely right tone of the new approach in the determination of the educative content. And even more. He is a supporter for the school education to be subordinated to such basic directions like breeding of patriotic feelings, introduction of forms for activating the pupils by the help of the very educative content, development of the personal capabilities, giving a preference to the development of the independence of the pupil, setting at a front plan the moral importance of the aims of the educative process, for the introduction of most-contemporary school appliances and facilities.
Can we now assert, that the left by Irechek significant in volume and content state expertise and scientific-research heritage are studied fully and consistently? I do not engage myself with a categorical answer. But, the truth is that the popularity of doctor Konstantin Irechek has never been a part of some transient fashion or decorative presence. That’s why, whatever his case might be, there is hardly a need to prove, that it’s always difficult, but undoubtedly honourable to be a founder in different areas. That’s why in connection with his great merits for our country prince Alexander Batenberg has awarded him with one of the highest state distinctions – medal “Alexander Nevski” - ІІІ degree.
The human progress was achieved by the joint efforts of people of ideas and people of action. Doctor Konstantin Irechek had the rare talent to combine both qualities. That’s why he wrote in his diary the following words to remember, which in practice are his ambitious credo for action: „Need to travel in Bulgaria, to establish close contacts with the people, to publish the magazine “Bulgarian antiquity”, idea for a museum ...”. This is the way he saw his aspiration from the threads of the past to knit the tissue of the Bulgarian future. Irechek is a bright example for how the very life imposes on creative personalities like him to catch the right direction of the national interests, to direct with the aim not to bet on the blind chance, but on the proven ability to find those necessary means and approaches, by the help of which to trace the routes along which these trends and longings will be achieved. There is no Bulgarian government in this period, which did not strive to define its actions in the field of the national education and which did not do everything possible, in accordance with the experience and the financial opportunities, for the constant improvement of the school law; for development of the basic means for management of the education and seeking mechanisms, allowing constant encouragement of the looking for paths for modernization of the pedagogical theory and practice. Thus gradually the democratic spirit of the educational policy in Bulgaria was developed. Thanks to the valuable assistance of Irechek, this allowed its successful joining with the contemporary European general educational achievements.
Each century makes its reassessment of the past. This concerns those figures, who had the real opportunity to take decisions of great public importance. That’s why when we speak about the work of doctor Konstantin Irechek in Bulgaria, we definitely have to say that it is a more lasting monument than a tomb. In order to make a true portrait of a given personality, that has entered the history under one or another reason due to the fact, that he has over-passed his time, it’s necessary to go beyond the documenting of his popularity. And to make an analysis of the sustainability and effectiveness of the management decisions, taken by him. That’s why the name of Irechek will never be pushed in the back-yard of the Bulgarian history, science and culture. He showed that he is a widely tailored man of European spiritual value, who left so bright tracks in the national educational road. That’s why out of any doubt is the fact that his most significant achievement is namely in the field of establishing a school system of high quality in Bulgaria.
This narration devoted on Irechek aims at passing subsequently through the different life layers, basing only and solely on the facts in his personal documents, letters and diaries, as well as on archive materials and assessments, left by his contemporaries. Here we have to point out, that this study is accompanied also by the subjective author’s position, supported by the completeness of the facts and the desire to reach maximum preciseness. All this outlines the way of a study, in the reasons of which can be included deep and significant aspects of the social-political reality at that time. Of great importance is also the fact, that among the wide circle of acquaintances of Irechek we can find names of most remarkable Bulgarian politicians, writers, scientists and intellectuals. This is a real world, which reveals his personal tendency to seek constantly the most notable in spiritual relation contemporaries and together with them, in accordance with his criteria to go along the roads of his contribution for the future of our education, science and culture. Thus we’ll be able to see more clearly, that these are the years, which describe the contours of a real process – turned into a deed, built by the common efforts of a whole generation, thanks to the flame which cannot be distinguished and youthful faith in the future. That’s why in the next pages we’ll often underline that Irechek is constantly in the centre of these actually important national events. That’s why, taking into account the extraordinary chance, which his mission in Bulgaria gives to him, he succeeds to overcome his unsmooth life road, related to lots of hardships.
In front of you, dear readers, are lines, in which you can see an aspiration to look inside the personal universe of Irechek. Such an effort should be done. Because I have been lead by the thought, that it is appropriate to know more about the man, who has devoted completely to the Bulgarian educational and scientific cause rather than following the chronology of his life and deed. I think that in this way we can more closely approach his human destiny, doubts, joys and troubles, which were being often offered by the prose of the everyday life. That’s why in my study I was obliged to reveal how much Irechek gives from himself, from his spiritual and physical strengths, in order to enrich by his personal presence the wide and stormy stream of the surrounding Bulgarian scientific and public social reality. I do not imagine, that I have succeeded to clarify all aspects of the rich fruitful activity of Konstantin Irechek in our country. I believe, that I have succeeded in coping with the temptation to build his consistent and complete image. Because he is one of the people, who always bother and waken consciences, make the moral measures more precise and make us assess the contribution of their deed in order to become an ideal for all of us. By his fruitful activity in Bulgaria Irechek has followed strictly two commands – of his mind and of his heart. On one hand he did everything for the development of our education and culture. But on the other hand he without prejudice revealed the nature of the century outlining the existing feverish and mixed-up spirit of the unavailability of faith and mercantilism, which unfortunately have replaced the high aims and hopes before the Liberation.
As in each piece of art, in human life all issues cannot be clarified by the help of one single category of the analysis. That’s why I directed myself to a quite wide circle of aspects – esthetical, historical, sociological, political, moral, social and scientific – in order to try, using many resources, to reveal on their background the developing public processes in Bulgaria in this period, which could not be so notable without the personality and the deed of doctor Konstantin Irechek.
The Author
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