10892 | 14 Feb. 2025 | 09:03

He spent his last days in his hometown Lom, where he died in poverty on March 15, 1891

 Author Mirela Kostadinova

 A coincidence leads me to the monument of Petar Berkovski - Bulgarian revolutionary, public figure, and teacher. The bronze bust is located in Haskovo, in a small park at the beginning of "G. S. Rakovski" Boulevard. Its author is Yani Stavrev. I remember that Petar Berkovski was once the mayor of this city - notoriously honest and just.

 He was born in Lom in 1852. His father was from Berkovitsa and went as a tailor to the near Danube city to practice his craft. In Lom, he was known as Ivan Berkovski. He married Vylkana and lived in the family's home. Their son Petar received his primary education from the great Lom Revivalists Krastyo Pishurka and Nikola Parvanov. At the age of thirteen, he went to Belgrade to continue his studies. In 1865, he was sent to Austria for preparation in a pedagogical high school. He enrolls in the Spiritual Seminary and graduates five years later. It is in Belgrade where Berkovski meets Vasil Levski, as well as other revolutionaries - G. Rakovski, Angel Kanchev, Eremia Bulgarian, Ilio Markov, Tseko Petkov. He also becomes close with Lyuben Karavelov. After Belgrade, he studies for two years in Prague. His financial support is ensured by Antim I. Afterwards, he returns to his hometown with the desire to become a teacher. In Lom, at that time, the teachers Georgi Parvanov and his brother Nikola have passed away.

 The first school in Lom refuse to appoint Petar Berkovski, probably because of his relations with the revolutionary emigration and Dimitar Angelov, who leads the Lom conspiracy.

 In 1872, Berkovski decides to go to his benefactor Antim I in Constantinople, to discuss with him and ask him to continue his financial support. He wants to finish his education in Prague. Antim I refuses him. But in Constantinople he meets and gets to know Doctor Chomakov, Georgi Chalakov and other Bulgarians who wanted Bulgaria's liberation through education.

 Upon Antim I's insistence, Petar Berkovski becomes a teacher in Plovdiv. He travels with the teacher Petar Gorbanov and passes through Haskovo. The locals insist that Berkovski stay in the city as a teacher and he agrees. He quickly gains the trust of the people of Haskovo and they call him "das kala". Every Sunday or on a holiday, they listened to his Christian teachings in the church. He also told historical stories in the reading room. He was only twenty-two years old - tall, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a beard. Sometimes he dressed in black and white, other times he wore a brown suit made of Viennese velvet with a colorful tie and a brown hat. Described as a follower of European fashion.

 This is how his contemporaries describe him. He is a true encyclopedist. Stoyan Zaimov writes in "The Past". "Petar Berkovski of the town of Lom practically realized the idea of Nestor Markov and founded the Haskovo Bulgarian Chitalishte. Berkovski was not only a teacher to children, but also to adults. For us, he is Diderot, D'Alembert and Proudhon". In his memories, Berkovski writes that Vasil Levski visited Haskovo in 1873. The two had already met in Belgrade, when Berkovski was studying in the Theological Seminary. Levski founded a revolutionary committee in Haskovo in the autumn of 1872. The chairman of the revolutionary committee is Petar Berkovski himself, and other local teachers are members - Mircho Popov, Maleya Lulchev, Prodan and Kiriak Serbezovi, Georgi and Mikhail Hadzhiminchevi. He tells this in detail in "From My Memories", but he probably confuses the year 1873, because at the time Levski was already hanged.

 The Turkish authorities learn about Berkovski's revolutionary work. This happens when Levski's deputy Atanas Uzunov attempts to kill the Greeko-maniac Hajji Stavri and falls into the hands of the police. They arrest Petar Berkovski and other members of the committee.

 On January 4, 1874, they are imprisoned in Diyarbakir, in the fortress of Saint John d'Acra, for life. During this time, Petar Berkovski, together with Mikhail Minchev, translates "The Jewish Wanderer" from French, a grammar book from Czech, and geometry from Polish. He befriends the main engineer Murad Bey, who is Polish. The bey appoints him as his assistant with a monthly salary of 200 groshes. The Bulgarian decides to escape from the Diyarbakir dungeons.
 
 On June 18, 1876, together with Mikhail Minchev, he escaped from the fortress and went straight to the port of Alexandretta. From there, with the help of the Russian consul, they went to Odessa. In the autumn of 1876, Petar Berkovski was a teacher in Braila, where he continued the traditions of the Bulgarian Revival educators, leaving a mark among Bulgarians and Romanians. Under his influence, a large number of Bulgarian settlers and immigrants joined the Bulgarian militia. In the spring of 1877, Berkovski was a soldier in the IV militia group. In Ploiesti, he was promoted to a non-commissioned officer, and later transferred to the fifth group. In July and August 1877, he fought at Stara Zagora and Shipka.

 His trials, as well as his imprisonment in Diyarbakir, had an impact on his health and he became ill with tuberculosis, which manifested during the Liberation War. "Injured Bulgarian Soldier Dimitar Tomovitch Leaves Battle and Goes for Treatment in Southern France. He Stays there for a Whole Year. He Attends Lectures at the Law Faculty. He Visits Theaters and Galleries. He Stands for a Long Time in Front of Paintings by Delacroix, Juste Ryoquien, Rembrandt and Raphael. Then He Reads Alexander Dumas in French.

 He Returns to Bulgaria and Reenlists as a Second Lieutenant in the 59th Infantry Ljubljana Regiment and Later in the 25th Haskovo Company. His Loyal Beloved Wife Evgenia Hadjimintcheva, Whom He Met while Teaching in Haskovo, Never Stopped Waiting for Him. She Used to Say That Berkovski Was Imprisoned Forever, While She Was Engaged Forever. In the End, the Two Get Married. They Lived Together for Years, but She Passed Away. His Health Did Not Improve, and the Tuberculosis Resurfaced. Forced to Leave Military Service. He was recently appointed as the mayor of Oryahovo district. Due to a misunderstanding with Prime Minister Dragan Tsankov, he tendered his resignation by telegram. This happened in 1883. Later that same year, he was elected as a representative by his fellow citizens from Lom. At the first session of the National Assembly, he himself suggested that his election should be annulled due to a violation of some formality during the elections.

 In July 1884, Petar Berkovski became the mayor of Lovcha district, and the following year he became the mayor of Lom. His work in his hometown was complicated by the military actions during the Serbo-Bulgarian War. In November 1885, a relative of Amerigo Vespucci - Adriano Colocci Vespucci, arrived in Lom and met with Petar Berkovski. Vespucci is impressed by the Bulgarian and calls him the "mayor of Lom". About this meeting with Petar Berkovski, Adriano Vespucci talks in his book "In Bulgaria", published in Rome in 1893. Defamed by dishonest people and their intrigues, Petar Berkovski resigns. He goes to Plovdiv, where he publishes the newspaper "Union". He starts writing his memoirs, "From My Memories", which remain unfinished.

 In 1894, his second wife, Elenka Berkovska, manages to publish them. He spends his last days in his hometown of Lom, where he dies in poverty on March 15, 1891.