Величков

Sixty years ago, on November 16, 1907, the very next day after his arrival, Konstantin Velichkov died in Grenoble. Not only the last days, but the entire life and writing destiny of this public figure and writer of ours is connected with French culture and literature, with France in general. Let us recall the more important facts, adding some less known data about his death, extracted from the French press. Velichkov's first and at the same time the deepest and most lasting impressions of French literature, and indirectly also of the freedom-loving French spirit, were from the time of his studies at the French Lyceum in Constantinople. When the authorities asked for a young man from Pazardzhik to study at state expense, the city government unanimously proposed and sent Velichkov - who had already shown himself to be a capable and diligent student. And in September 1868, he entered the Lyceum Imperial Ottoman. At the same time and later, the following people studied here: Stoyan Mihaylovski, Georgi N. Zlatarski (the later famous professor-geologist), Hr. Genadiev, An. Frangia (political figures) and others. Organized according to the French model and with French teachers and educators, the lyceum gave its graduates the opportunity not only to learn French excellently, but also to become acquainted with French literature, with the rich and instructive history of the struggles of the French people for freedom.