Neofit Hilendarets Bozveli and Petko Slaveykov

It was deep autumn, in 1842. With souls filled with love for their homeland and a burning desire to continue their education, Petko Slaveykov and Hristo Draganov set off for Svishtov. They traveled on foot through the villages, with bags on their shoulders, in which, along with bread, lay the manuscript of Paisiy's History. "This journey through the villages was extremely curious for me. At that time, I already knew Bulgarian history, but my geographical knowledge was still very limited," the poet wrote. When they saw the Danube, they realized that they had reached the city. The great river flowed majestically and silently. To the north of it spread out the endless plain, and to the south rose white hills with gray houses perched on them, squeezed into narrow streets. The city was a center for the export of grain from the Danube Plain and an important economic center with distant trade connections - through Serbia, Austria, France, Dalmatia, to the entire commercial Western and Eastern world. Work began early and ended late in the evening. The Svishtov merchants, who had traveled "from Europe", dressed in a "European" way - shirts with stiff white collars, ties. Their wives wore malakofs sewn in Bucharest, the daughters - outfits from Galati, Pest and Vienna.