Background

With his decree from May 15, 1926, Tzar Boris 3^rd pronounced the home of the eminent author Aleko Konstantinov for a house-museum. Until 1997, three departments of the Historical Museum of Svishtov have been using the house and its yard Ethnography , Archeology , and Aleko Konstantinov . After 1997, the first two exhibitions moved to separate buildings. In the yard of the house-museum still took place the largest and most beautiful archeological finds from the ancient City of Nove (1 5 C. AC) discovered near Svishtov. Several years ago, the roof of the LAPIDARIUM fell down on the archeological finds. The exhibition left exposed to weather changes. All benches, fences, and alleys in the yard started to break down. The museum budget turned out insufficient to cover the expenses of the whole historical complex.

The problems of the house-museum found their solutions in the program of the Public Forum of Svishtov. At one of their sessions, all delegates reached the agreement that a culture institution such as House-museum Aleko Konstantinov needs to be preserved for the future generations.

Practice

The biggest part of the project was financed by Foundation for Local Government Reform and Municipality of Svishtov. With their own financing, in the project took part also Multikom Svishtov , Experimentally Station for fast-growing and forest-tree species Svishtov, and International Foundation Aleko Konstantinov . The project activities included:

- building a new roof for the LAPIDARIUM;

- renewal of the stone fence of the yard;

- building a new wooden fence according to the plan of a specially appointed architect;

- enrichment of the yard soil with humus;

- green planting of the yard;

- repairing of the alleys and benches in the yard.

On September 6, 2004, the project work was successfully finished with the cooperation of the Historical Museum of Svishtov, several non-profit organizations, and private firms.

Results

After the restoration of the house-museum yard, thousands of visitors were able to feel the spirit of the renaissance atmosphere in the home of the eminent author of Svishtov. The yard turned into a very convenient place for various cultural events in the open. The project created a well-maintained LAPIDARIUM that offers the visitors the opportunity to get acquainted with the ancient Roman City of Nove. Last, but not least, the Historical Museum of Svishtov gathered experience in collaboration with various organizations; collaboration, which will be kept and developed in the future.