Chitalishte

The Chitalishte is unique, traditional, community based organization with cultural, educational, informational, social and civic functions open for people of all ages. The Chitalishta of the 19^th and early 20^th century had a crucial role in preserving and developing Bulgarian culture and identity thus played an important role during the Bulgarian National Revival. The term “Chitalishte” is a compound noun, originating from the Bulgarian Slavic root, chital- (reading) and the suffix -ishte (place where preceding verb happens). The word Chitalishte in translation means "reading room", a place where books are kept for public use. The first organizations of this kind emerged towards the end of the Ottoman era, in 1856. Later, the chitalishte became an important multi-purpose institution in villages and smaller towns.