Summary: The close ties between Bulgarian and Croatian humanities scholars date back to the late 19th – early 20th century and have yielded good results because they draw strength from the fraternal relations between the two nations over the centuries. In current times, this cooperation is developing even more intensively owing to the bilateral Agreement on Scientific Cooperation and Exchange between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts of 1997. As a result of that, an original research area of Croatian studies, which will soon reach its first quarter of a century, has emerged and been established at the Institute of Balkan Studies with Thracology Centre (IBSTC). This study presents a kind of summary of the results achieved by Bulgarian and Croatian scholars within the framework of the bilateral research projects. Data are presented on the thirteen joint conferences organized and the thirteen collections published, which contain 265 studies with a total volume of over 4,500 pages – a veritable encyclopedia of the political, cultural and economic relations between the two nations. The output of the scholars of the IBSTC who have participated in the bilateral cooperation over the years is measured by similar parameters. More importantly, it has become a platform for other initiatives such as exhibitions, concerts, public talks and media appearances that contribute to the mutual understanding and cultural enrichment of the two nations. This is precisely the essence of our scholarly mission – to enrich our knowledge of the Bulgarian-Croatian relations over the centuries as part of the cultural heritage of United Europe.
Keywords: Bulgaria, Croatia, scientific relations, politics, history, culture
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