The Chitaliste during the Nation Building Period – between the experience of the Others and the Bulgarian specificity

Abstract

The study presents the chitalishte institution during the Bulgarian Nation Building Period. The main focus is the establishment of the cultural-educational association following the prerequisites for their appearance in European and Bulgarian contexts. At the same time the connections between the institution and the local communities have been traced by examining the mechanism of the establishment of the different chitalishtes, as well as of the analysis of the ways of functioning of the institution and of its specific autonomous model of self-government and complex forms of activity.