On 14 July 2025, Bisera Yosifova, Executive Director of the 13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund, and Svetlana Encheva, Director of the ‘Earth and Man’ National Museum, signed a memorandum of joint activities. It reflects the direction in which the two organisations will cooperate as partners in the coming years.
NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ is at the heart of the museum’s establishment, having provided the principal exhibits—the ‘Giant Crystals from Brazil’ collection of Ilia Deleff, a Fund donor who, wishing to found a museum in the capital, in 1985 bequeathed his personal collection of unique giant crystals to Bulgaria, It is of significant scientific and cultural value. The giant quartz crystals from Brazil are a natural phenomenon, indeed an extremely rare occurrence. They originate in the state of Minas Gerais, from the Rio Doce valley in the inland parts of Brazil (north of Rio de Janeiro).
The museum is a state cultural institute of national significance. The Giant Crystals collection is one of the two largest in the world, as well as the richest systematic collection on the Balkans, consisting of 1,550 mineral species, including the most complete collection of Bulgarian minerals and a rich exhibition of precious stones.
The ‘Earth and Man’ National Museum was entirely founded in 1986 with donations from Bulgarian and foreign individuals and legal entities such as NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’. The full development of the museum, including restoration and adaptation of the building, constructed at the end of the 19th century as part of the then military workshop complex (arsenal), was achieved with funds from NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’.
Over the years, the Fund has made other donations to the museum. On 9 July 1986, NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ donated 1 ounce of gold, in accordance with the will of its benefactor, Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky. On 25 May 2015, NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ donated jewellery made of precious metals, precious and semi-precious gems, and souvenirs made of minerals, worth a total of BGN 72,127.50. The museum displays the Fund’s donation in its permanent exposition.
The Memorandum of Cooperation is valid for a period of five years.
Based on a signed Cooperation Agreement, NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ will initiate donative activities in 2026, with the aim of raising the necessary funds for the reconstruction of the museum.