Story thread · 2 reports / 1 sources

Rayna Knyaginya’s Great-Grandson Zdravchev Donates 147-Year-Old Family Kilim to Kotel History Museum

bta.bg · 9dShare

A Curly Stars kilim kept as a family heirloom for 147 years was donated to Kotel History Museum by Rayna Knyaginya’s great-grandson Zdravcho Zdravchev on Sunday. It once belonged to Kotel’s first post-Liberation mayor Krastyo Baychev, who served from 1878 to 1879. The donation took place during the tenth edition of the Ethnicity, Colour and Carpet Festival, where Zdravchev also presented his book Know Your Roots and Language. Long regarded as the family’s most treasured heirloom, the kilim became part of the museum’s collection. “It should return to where it came from,” Zdravchev said in a BTA interview. He preserved the kilim because of its link to Baychev’s memory and the family’s roots in Kotel. “When we draw closer to the Lord and begin to follow His command, ‘Give, and it will be given to you,’ things in Bulgaria will improve. ‘Give, and it will be given to you.’ That is the truth about life,” Zdravchev said. The book was a documentary study devoted to family memory, historical co

First report: Kotel Carpet Festival Celebrates a Decade of Colour and Tradition — bta.bg, 10d