THE ARCHIVES OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT: MUNICIPAL AND DISTRICT ARCHIVES IN POST-LIBERATION BULGARIA

Abstract

In the period after the Liberation in 1878, the construction of the new Bulgarian state went hand in hand with the creation of contemporary institutions to ensure stability and efficiency of governance. An essential element of this process were the local self-government bodies, and these are the municipalities and district administrations, which were the ones that formed the main administrative connection between the central government and the citizens. An inevitable part of their activity was the systematic creation and storage of documents that formed the primary archival structures at the local level. The archives of the municipalities and districts collect documents of various contents: minutes of meetings, election papers, tax and property registers, police and court documentation, school, and cultural reports. They reflect not only administrative life, but also socio-economic and cultural processes in the various regions of the country. In this way, local archives became a valuable source for the study of modernization trends in post-liberation Bulgaria. Despite their key importance, these archives function under a variety of restrictions. The lack of a unified regulatory framework and centralized policy for managing archives leads to uneven practices in their maintenance. The limited material and human resources of municipalities often put the documentary heritage at risk of loss or destruction. However, the efforts of local authorities to preserve documentation testify to the gradual formation of an administrative culture and awareness of the importance of archives as a tool of management. From the point of view of historiography, local government archives have a dual function. On one hand, they are a practical tool for the daily functioning of institutions and for maintaining accountability to the central government. On the other hand, they acquire lasting historical value, as they preserve information about the development of society, economy, and culture in the years of the formation of the Bulgarian state in the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Thus, examining municipal and district archives in the period 1878-1912 allows not only a deeper understanding of administrative practice, but also provides an opportunity to reconstruct the local dimensions of Bulgarian modernity. Further study of these archives highlights the specific regional features of governance and their role in shaping national identity. They also show how local authorities cope with the challenges of limited resources and rapid societal change. In this sense, local archives can be seen as a kind of mirror of the processes of statehood and modernization in post-liberation Bulgaria. Their preservation and research are a key factor in revealing the historical continuity and institutional memory of Bulgarian society.