Lucia Costache: The book “The History of Bulgarians in Târgoviște” aims to affirm our identity as Bulgarians in Romania

Vladimir Mitev

Intro

Lucia Costache is one of the authors of the book “The History of Bulgarians in Târgoviște,” along with her husband, Marian Costache, and priest Ioan Ștefănescu. “The History of the Bulgarians in Târgoviște” tells the story of the Bulgarian community in the Romanian city of Târgoviște – their settlement in the area, their development during the interwar period, when the community established its own bank, the socialist period associated with the nationalization of land, and the present, when the community is strongly integrated into Romanian society.

The Bulgarians in Târgoviște are known for their Orthodox faith and have a religious landmark in their neighborhood – the Church St. Nifon. They are Romanian patriots and honor the victims of their community in the Romanian wars of the modern era. They strive to improve their relations with Bulgarians in Romania and to learn more about the Bulgarian language. Every year in the spring, the Bulgarians in Târgoviște celebrate Horses’ Easter – a very popular event in Romania and the region. The interview below reflects some significant elements of the historical and collective identity of the Bulgarians in Târgoviște.

Origins of Bulgarians of Târgoviște

Ms. Costache, we are just a few days away from the release of the book “The History of the Bulgarians in Târgoviște,” dedicated to the Bulgarians in Romania. We would like to talk to you about this book, about the experiences and identity of the Bulgarians of Târgoviște. First of all, what are the origins of this community? Where does it come from and how did it settle in Târgoviște?

Initially, the Bulgarian neighborhood was part of Târgoviște, but between 1936-1944 and 1946-1952, the Matei Voievod Commune was established with its own administration, later integrated into the municipality. Over 2,000 ethnic Bulgarians live here. We established an association out of a desire to preserve our traditions and customs, but also in memory of those who crossed the Danube and came to Romania in search of a better life, fearing the Turks. It is called Zaedno. It is a cultural association, and we wanted it to help us create a closer-knit community, where Bulgarian traditions and customs, which are so dear and important to us, could be better preserved.

Searching for the origins, the moment, and the reasons why Bulgarians came to Târgoviște, we discovered that they came from Băleni in 1851. In 1851, over 100 Bulgarian families lived on the estate of the boyar Băleanu, located 20 kilometers from Târgoviște and 60 kilometers from Bucharest. Some of them wanted to leave because conditions were not very good. They were able to pay for their land, and in the book I wrote about the conditions in which they lived, the reasons for leaving Băleni and coming to Târgoviște. Here they bought land for houses and agriculture. They were vegetable growers.

A document records that on November 30, 1851, 57 families came and settled in Târgoviște. The mayor at the time welcomed them and they made an agreement whereby they were considered citizens of the city and were to pay taxes on the land they owned. Beyond that, we didn’t know anything else, so we started searching. We ended up in Bulgaria and, through the Ministry of Education, we took some Bulgarian language courses in Sofia, at the University of St. Kliment Ohridski. There, at the National History Museum, we discovered some costumes that looked very similar to ours. There, at the National History Museum, we discovered some costumes that looked very similar to ours. We asked where they came from and found out that they were from the Pleven area. Later, we visited the museum in Pleven and discovered many items of clothing and household objects very similar to those we have at the Zaedno Association Museum. This is how we discovered that the area from which they left for Băleni is the Pleven area. We are still searching, as we would like to discover more documents.

In the attic of my parents’ house, I found a box where my grandmother had kept many documents. There I discovered the birth and marriage certificates of our ancestors. That is how I learned that in 1821, Marin Sin Voiciu, one of my ancestors, was born in Băleni. So Bulgarians had been living in Băleni since 1821. We are going to do some research to find out where they came from. We also found documents in other houses, as well as photographs of our grandparents and great-grandparents dressed in traditional costumes.

We have many traditions that are no longer relevant, because modernization is natural. This is all the more so because we live in a city, and the city attracts modernism more than rural areas do. I also wrote in the book that we live in the city, but like in the countryside, because this whole neighborhood consists of houses, and each house has a garden. Bulgarians know how to grow vegetables. Some do it just for themselves, others also for sale. I noticed that in Bulgaria, too, most people who have houses have gardens, and I was happy to see that our concerns are very similar.

With so many documents and so much research, we thought it was time for more residents of the neighborhood to find out what we had discovered so far. With the help of the city hall, we wrote this book. The historical part and all the documents collected by my husband, Marian Costache, are scanned and placed in the book in chronological order. About the “Saint Nifon” church, priest Ioan Ștefănescu, who was a parish priest for 31 years, wrote about Saint Nifon and his very interesting story. I took the liberty of writing about traditions and customs myself, because I was raised by two grandmothers who had a great love for traditions, customs, nature, and everything that life means.

The book was written for these people who have managed to preserve their traditions to this day, more than 175 years after they came to Târgoviște. I wrote it so that our children and grandchildren could learn about their roots and because it is natural for us to have a connection with our mother country. We are Romanian citizens, we are educated in Romanian, but every time I talk to someone from Bulgaria, I say that I don’t have a drop of Romanian blood, that my blood is Bulgarian. Indeed, you feel that when you talk to someone from Bulgaria, it’s like talking to someone from home.

We have a problem here in Târgoviște, which all Bulgarians north of the Danube have: we are known as Serbs. Here, if you ask someone, they will tell you that it is the Serbian neighborhood, but if you speak to them in Bulgarian, they will say that they are Bulgarian. That is why we wanted to emphasize this aspect once again, and that is why the book is called “The History of the Bulgarians in Târgoviște,” to instill in our subconscious that we are Bulgarians and to stop saying that we are Serbs. Once again, I say, in memory of those who knew how to raise us and leave behind a community of hard-working people, we have managed to produce this book. It was a very big and pleasant surprise that so many Romanians and Bulgarians are interested in it. It is important for us that this book reaches as many people as possible, and that as many as possible understand that there is a root, a native country, a motherland, even though we are Romanian citizens.

Sf. Nifon’s church and the Orthodox faith of Bulgarians in Târgoviște

You mentioned the importance of St. Nifon’s Church and the Orthodox faith for the Bulgarians in Târgoviște. Can you tell us more about these two aspects: the church and their attitude towards faith?

For me, it is interesting that the Bulgarian settlement is located on the outskirts of Târgoviște and that the church is somewhere on the old city limits. There is a story about Saint Nifon, who seems to have been expelled from the city because of a misunderstanding with Prince Radu the Great. He was the metropolitan of Wallachia.

Saint Nifon was exiled by Radu Voievod. The Church of Saint Nifon is as old as the Bulgarians in Târgoviște. It was consecrated in 1854, on December 9. The Bulgarians arrived in 1851 and participated in its construction and consecration. It is said that Saint Nifon was hidden there, in a hut, because Prince Radu the Great had exiled him. The ruler wanted to marry his sister, Princess Caplea, to a Moldavian boyar who already had a wife and children. Patriarch Nifon opposed this, and the ruler decided to depose or even kill him. The saint hid in this hut, and when he left, he shook his shoes, saying that this city and those who live in it would be reduced to dust. However, he blessed the one who hid him, who later became ruler: Neagoe Basarab.

I was saying that the Bulgarians settled on this side of the church. I thought that, although Saint Nifon shook his shoes there, this part was blessed, because the land here is very fertile. Later, Târgoviște, the former seat of power and capital, was abandoned, and the capital moved to Bucharest. Maybe this is also a sign, I don’t know.

The Bulgarians participated in the construction of the church, knowing the story of Saint Nifon. They are Orthodox Christians, with a strong faith. As I wrote in the book, they produced their own seeds. The women went to church on Saint Haralambie’s Day to have the seeds blessed. On Saint Toader’s Day, also known as Horse Easter, they blessed their horses by making small loaves of bread. We turned this custom into a big neighborhood celebration, and now everyone knows that Bulgarians have horses, that they love them and bless them. Horse Easter is celebrated every first Saturday of Lent. They contributed money and labor, and since then, the church has flourished. Today, it is still a beautiful and well-maintained church, and most Bulgarians in the neighborhood are good Christians and believers.

The popular bank

In the book and in the story of the Bulgarians in Târgoviște, it is important to note that they had a people’s bank during the interwar period. I would like to talk about the professions, the socioeconomic status of Bulgarians at that time, and this bank.

As was the case for all of Romania, the interwar period was a time of growth and prosperity. In the documents I found, I noticed that the members of the community would get together and buy land, which they would then divide up according to how much each person could pay. This is how almost all the land in the Târgoviște area and the neighboring villages came to be owned by the Bulgarians here. From 1851 to 1956-1957, when collectivization began, in a hundred years, these people managed to buy all this land from the large landowners through their work.

Moreover, they felt they needed greater economic power and decided to build a headquarters and set up a bank. On Grădinari Street, there is a building that was the bank’s headquarters. They joined forces, deposited money, and took out loans so that they could make all these investments. The bank was called “Banca Grădina.” There is a ledger showing that, after its establishment, it had 163 shareholder members. It operated until 1948, when it was nationalized. People had everything they had deposited there taken away. The book contains the articles of association, the names of the founding members, photographs of the first vice presidents and the Bank’s Board, as well as sales and purchase documents. One of the documents even lists 90 people who joined forces and bought land.

Professions of Bulgarians in Târgoviște

What can you say about the trades and economy of the neighborhood? What did the Bulgarians do?

Most were vegetable growers, but some of them understood that in order for the economy to work, they had to sell their products and became merchants. Others learned or even came with various trades, so that within the community there were families who were engaged in various activities. For example, some were tailors, others shoemakers, others blacksmiths. There was also a family of musicians, but only the nickname “cimpoieri” (bagpipers) remained. They had all the trades they needed in the community so that they could prosper and not depend too much on the outside world. They grew up and tried to provide for themselves everything they needed, to buy and sell their products. There are also documents attesting to a kind of certificate, which allowed them to sell at fairs or open shops. They engaged in anything that could bring profit, although working the land was their most important activity.

The Treaty of Craiova

The year 1940 arrived, along with the Treaty of Craiova. Here I have two questions: first, as it says in the book, the Bulgarians in Târgoviște did not want to be repatriated to Bulgaria with the population exchange. It is also very important that the Bulgarians in Târgoviște are Romanian patriots who fought in wars. Even today, there is a monument that recognizes the sacrifices made by this community for the Romanian state. What can you tell us about this attitude of the Bulgarians in Târgoviște towards the Romanian state?

Once they arrived in 1851 and eager to be considered citizens of Târgoviște, they began to work, raise their children, and invest, out of a desire to live in better conditions and be more prosperous. In Romania’s War of Independence in 1877, we have several names of heroes who sacrificed themselves. Not only did people sacrifice themselves, but they also contributed with various products. They wanted to be helpful because they were aware that their well-being was also the well-being of Romania, the nation they were trying to integrate into. Later, in World War I, they also contributed with products, horses, and everything else that was needed. We also have a list of those who died on the front lines, both in World War I and World War II. I have a great-grandfather who participated in World War I, was a soldier for nine years, then left the army, after which he was reincorporated. He returned from the war, while my grandfather, his son, left in 1940 and was shot in 1941 and never returned.

This is the sacrifice that the community made for the good of all, both theirs and that of the Romanian citizens. We were born and raised in Romania. In 1940, it was already the umpteenth generation of Bulgarians who had come here. They spoke Bulgarian, kept their traditions and their dress. But they had invested so much and, as I said, in a hundred years, all the land was theirs. After so much effort and hard work, they did not want to leave all their work behind and go back to Bulgaria empty-handed. On the other hand, the city council at the time was aware that the supply of fresh vegetables, brought daily by the Bulgarians in the neighborhood, and the departure of the Bulgarians would have been a great loss for the entire city. Although, at the time, some were eager to see the Bulgarians leave and get their hands on their wealth. In the end, an agreement was reached between the two states. They declared themselves Serbs, and the Bulgarians remained silent, accepting to be declared Serbs in order to be allowed to continue living where they had settled. That is why we are called Serbs and not Bulgarians, and that is why they were no longer given the right to be considered a minority.

What is commendable about these grandparents and great-grandparents who lived through those times is that, although they did not complain to the authorities, they did not give up their identity. They preserved their language, customs, and traditions in their small community and raised their children with love. It was easy for the Romanian authorities because there was no Bulgarian-language school, and the priest conducted services in Romanian. It was much easier to say, “Sir, these are not Bulgarians, they are Serbs and they will not go to Bulgaria.” I don’t know if it would have been different or what the consequences of a larger exchange of citizens between Bulgarians and Romanians would have been. What I do know is that they integrated very well and that the Romanian people are a tolerant people. And because Bulgarians are sincere, honest, and hardworking, they were and are still accepted to this day.

However, I have noticed that, nowadays, in the last 30-40 years, the community has been viewed as one in which people are not very educated or intelligent, but only know how to work and make money. After their land was taken away with collectivization, they were forced to send their children to school. There was no other future for them, because they could no longer leave them a dowry and could no longer invest. These children are very intelligent, they speak Bulgarian at home and Romanian on the street and at school. Gradually, the impression of the entire community has changed, and we hope that this book will provide additional knowledge and highlight what kind of people Bulgarians are.

The socialist times

There was a time when the Romanian Communist Party was very influential, and state institutions played a major role. How did the Bulgarians in Târgoviște fare during socialism? Were there people who grew up in the socialist system, educated people or people in leadership positions?

I was raised in this system, because collectivization had already taken place when I was born. It seems that in 1960 a CAP (agricultural production cooperative) was created, and in 1962 they were forcibly collectivized. Their land was simply taken away and this collective was created. Even though they no longer benefited personally from their work, they continued to work the land collectively. This period of collectivization brought, I would say, great benefits to both the neighborhood and the city. Through volunteer work and their own funds, they built the Cultural Center, a building that still exists today and where the ZAEDNO Association carries out its activities. Now, the building belongs to the city hall and is administered by the Municipal Theater. Behind it is another building, which has since been sold by the city hall, and next to it is another very large building, which was intended to be a nursery but became the headquarters of the gendarmerie. So the city benefited from their work.

In addition, they built a dispensary with two offices, which were later bought by the doctors who work there. They built a kindergarten for children, paved the streets, and built a sawmill because they needed lumber. The book states that my husband’s grandfather was forced to join this CAP, and he agreed on the condition that only he and his wife would join, and their children would be allowed to go to school. So most of the children were sent to school because they no longer had the opportunity to benefit from working their land.

School was conducted in Romanian. The book also has a chapter about school and kindergarten. The first teacher found that he could not communicate with the children because they did not know Romanian. First, the children had to learn Romanian at school, and then they began their studies. Nothing was ever written in Cyrillic or Bulgarian. Now, in recent years, with the help of Mrs. Darina Cerneva, we have managed to decipher and learn more. The children also learned Romanian at home. For example, as a child, I spoke Bulgarian with my grandparents, but my father spoke to me only in Romanian from the age of three, aware that I had to go to school to speak Romanian and that it would be much easier for me.

Today, in the neighborhood, as the book says, there are people with all kinds of jobs who have left the city or the country. They return with fondness, and the pleasant surprise was that many of those who left also want to get the book, to read about their origins and learn more, because “blood is thicker than water.”

The Bulgarian community today

What are the challenges and the current socioeconomic status of the community?

At first, it was not the most representative and hard-working people who set themselves up as leaders. Over time, however, as the community evolved, a few people who really wanted the best for the community came to lead the cooperative. They managed to build the structures we talked about. They knew the rules of capitalist life much better and, returning to their origins, they managed to recover their land with the documents they had before collectivization. This land was put up for sale by those who could no longer work it. The sales brought prosperity to the neighborhood, and now we rarely see old, unfinished houses. Every household has flourished, but from these sources, from these land sales. As I said, most of the land, perhaps as much as 90%, belonged to Bulgarians. So, this period brought prosperity in a way.

They integrated because they are people who know how to work and mind their own business. Nothing different happened compared to what happened throughout the country. It is more difficult nowadays for those who make a living from gardening, from growing vegetables, because, as has happened everywhere, the big stores are filled with products from other countries, grown under different conditions. They continue to suffer and have to reorient themselves. They can no longer make a living from working the land. That is painful. However, the vast majority are integrated and work. Bucharest is very close. Many have left for Bucharest, some even commute daily, 80 kilometers. What happens to members of the community is the same as what happens to all Romanians. They have suffered in many ways, just like all Romanians, with the exception that there are no politicians here.

The place of Bulgarians from Târgoviște in the wider community of Bulgarians from Romania

What is the place, importance, and role of Bulgarians in Târgoviște within the larger Bulgarian community in Romania?

Each of the ethnic Bulgarian communities in Romania has its own specific characteristics. For example, the Bulgarians in Izvoarele are great winegrowers, those in Băleni are vegetable growers… I only found out that there were Bulgarians in Banat after the 1989 Revolution. They arrived in that area much earlier than the Bulgarians north of the Danube. Each has its own specific characteristics, but there is a spiritual connection. There is joy and recognition for each of us, because each, wherever they settled, sought to integrate and preserve their specific characteristics. This is very gratifying.

There is a Romanian saying that Bulgarians are very stubborn. This stubbornness, or rather determination, which is linked to ethnicity and origin, to holding on to what is yours, makes us try to promote each other. We meet at various events, we are invited and we invite others to our events. It is a real joy to meet. Even though most of us now speak Romanian, we know that we are Bulgarians and that is very important. And we are all over Romania.

The relations with Bulgarians from Bulgaria

You mentioned a little about your relationship with a teacher from Bulgaria. Can you give us more details about how you interact with Bulgarians or with Bulgaria? Perhaps as institutions or as ordinary people. What kind of relationship do you have with Bulgarians in Bulgaria and with the Bulgarian state itself?

Years ago, this lady, Darina Cerneva, a teacher at a high school in Veliko Tarnovo, was sent by the Bulgarian Ministry to Bucharest to teach Bulgarian language courses to ethnic Bulgarians here. She was kind enough to come to Târgoviște as well, once a week. For four years, she commuted weekly from Veliko Tarnovo. She noticed that we speak an old form of Bulgarian and that we don’t know the alphabet, so she started by teaching us the alphabet. This was a great help because when we went to Bulgaria, we couldn’t communicate very well. Although we understand people from the countryside best, who have a more limited vocabulary and use archaic words, she helped us.

We were also able to take Bulgarian language courses with the help of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education. Some of the children managed to take these courses, learn the alphabet, write, and read. They have grown up now, some are already students, others have finished and are working, they have various jobs, but they know how to speak Bulgarian, which is very important. We gave up at one point, after the lady left. Those who came to the courses were no longer as dedicated.

This is a big problem for our children in the neighborhood because they don’t all go to the same school. Everyone took their child to the school that was most convenient for them, so it’s very difficult to gather children from all the schools in the city and organize a Sunday school. Nowadays, there are many mixed families, and many are married to Romanians and are no longer so interested in learning Bulgarian. There is also this technological explosion and the need to learn English. So we no longer offer Bulgarian language courses at the Cultural Center. However, the period during which we managed to learn and help some of the children learn was very beneficial. Let’s hope that if we popularize this book and if more people manage to read it, we will be able to resume Bulgarian language courses, of course, with the help of Bulgarian teachers. We don’t have Bulgarian language teachers here. It is only what we know and what we were able to do in the specialization courses. Several people, members of the association, attended courses in Sofia. Since then, however, we have broken off contact with the Bulgarian ministry because we realized that we could not meet their requirements. It is not too late to resume Bulgarian language courses.

Final message

Finally, could you give a message to the Bridge of Friendship audience, but in Bulgarian?

I could say a few words, which will be heard in my archaic Bulgarian:

„Zdrăvete, az sum Lucia Costache. Jiveem v Târgoviște, România. Sum ot kvartala na bălgărite, kydeto jiveem v grad Târgoviște. Tuka sme ot 1851, govorim s horata otpredi. Iskame da uchim bugarskia po-dobre, zašto sme rumunci, no rasnem v bugarite. Kogato me popita nikoî, s kogo govorim, mu kazah, če jiveem v Romania, imam maže tuka. No nie sme bugari i ni e mnogo priatno da govorim v bugarski i da imame vryzki s bugarite.”

“Hello, I am Lucia Costache. I live in Târgoviște, Romania. I am from the Bulgarian neighborhood, where I live in the city of Târgoviște. We have been here since 1851, we talk to people from before. We want to learn Bulgarian better because we are Romanians, but we grew up in the Bulgarian neighborhood. When someone asks me who I speak with, I tell them that I live in Romania and my husband is here. But we are Bulgarians and we don’t like to speak Bulgarian or have connections with Bulgarians.”

Photo: The book “The History of the Bulgarians in Târgoviște” (source:‌ Facebook/Lucia Costache)

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