On 28 April 2025, the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund paid tribute to the memory of Prof. Vera Gancheva (1943–2020), the literary researcher, critic and essayist, university lecturer, translator, publisher, and a donor to the Fund.
At the Fund’s instigation, a memorial plaque was installed at the entrance to her home at 1, Oborishte Street in Sofia. In this way, NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ not only commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the birth of the intellectual for whom the culture of Bulgaria was her life’s mission, but also paid a well-deserved tribute to the person Vera Gancheva, whose life path was linked to the activities of the Fund.
Vera Gancheva was one of the most generous donors to NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’. In 1987, she gifted the apartment of her late husband, poet Vladimir Bashev, which is now part of the National Literature Museum. She further bequeathed her own apartment on Oborishte Street.
Vera Gancheva was a long-time lecturer at St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University. Author of books and scientific papers, she was the editor-in-chief and director of Narodna Kultura Publishing House. She also founded Hemus Publishers and served as its manager until the end of 2001. In 1993, she became chairman of the Bulgarian-Swedish Friendship Society, while in 1996–97, she was the director of the Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library.
For many years, with Gancheva’s support and with the assistance of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Sofia, NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ bestowed the prestigious Artur Lundkvist Bulgarian-Swedish Literary Award, which undoubtedly contributed to the spiritual communication between the two peoples, as different and distant as they are close in terms of their creative views and intentions. The prize, awarded biennially between 1988 and 2016 to writers, translators, cultural figures, and young Scandinavianists from Bulgaria and Sweden, was named after its founder, Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991), one of the most prominent representatives of the literature of the Scandinavian North. At his suggestion and during his lifetime, Prof. Vera Gancheva headed the jury that determined the awarding of the Bulgarian-Swedish prize, while its composition was formed to reflect the Fund’s goals and tasks.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Bulgaria; Prof. Georgi Valchev, Rector, St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University; lecturers from the Department of Scandinavian Studies at St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University; the Union of Translators, journalists, and relatives and friends.