Vasil Levski
Biography
Early life, education and monkhood
Vasil Levski was born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev on 18 July [O.S. 6 July] 1837 in the town of Karlovo, within the Ottoman Empire's European province Rumelia.[14] He was the namesake of his maternal uncle, Archimandrite (superior abbot) Basil (Василий, Vasiliy).[15] Levski's parents, Ivan Kunchev and Gina Kuncheva (née Karaivanova), came from a family of clergy and craftsmen and represented the emerging Bulgarian middle class.[16] An eminent but struggling local craftsman, Kunchev died in 1844. Levski had two younger brothers, Hristo and Petar, and an older sister, Yana;[17] another sister, Maria, died during childhood.[18]
Entrance to Levski's native house in Karlovo. Built in the 18th century and reconstructed in 1933, it has been a museum since 1937.[19]
Fellow revolutionary Panayot Hitov later described the adult Levski as being of medium height and having an agile, wiry appearance—with light, greyish-blue eyes, blond hair, and a small moustache. He added that Levski abstained from smoking and drinking. Hitov's memories of Levski's appearance are supported by Levski's contemporaries, revolutionary and writer Lyuben Karavelov and teacher Ivan Furnadzhiev. The only differences are that Karavelov claimed Levski was tall rather than of medium height, while Furnadzhiev noted that his moustache was light brown and his eyes appeared hazel.[20]
Levski began his education at a school in Karlovo, studying homespun tailoring as a local craftsman's apprentice. In 1855, Levski's uncle Basil—archimandrite and envoy of the Hilandar monastery—took him to Stara Zagora, where he attended school[21] and worked as Basil's servant. Afterward, Levski joined a clerical training course.[22] On 7 December 1858, he became an Orthodox monk in the Sopot monastery[23] under the religious name Ignatius (Игнатий, Ignatiy) and was promoted in 1859 to hierodeacon,[24][25] which later inspired one of Levski's informal nicknames, The Deacon
Early life, education and monkhood
Vasil Levski was born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev on 18 July [O.S. 6 July] 1837 in the town of Karlovo, within the Ottoman Empire's European province Rumelia.[14] He was the namesake of his maternal uncle, Archimandrite (superior abbot) Basil (Василий, Vasiliy).[15] Levski's parents, Ivan Kunchev and Gina Kuncheva (née Karaivanova), came from a family of clergy and craftsmen and represented the emerging Bulgarian middle class.[16] An eminent but struggling local craftsman, Kunchev died in 1844. Levski had two younger brothers, Hristo and Petar, and an older sister, Yana;[17] another sister, Maria, died during childhood.[18]
Entrance to Levski's native house in Karlovo. Built in the 18th century and reconstructed in 1933, it has been a museum since 1937.[19]
Fellow revolutionary Panayot Hitov later described the adult Levski as being of medium height and having an agile, wiry appearance—with light, greyish-blue eyes, blond hair, and a small moustache. He added that Levski abstained from smoking and drinking. Hitov's memories of Levski's appearance are supported by Levski's contemporaries, revolutionary and writer Lyuben Karavelov and teacher Ivan Furnadzhiev. The only differences are that Karavelov claimed Levski was tall rather than of medium height, while Furnadzhiev noted that his moustache was light brown and his eyes appeared hazel.[20]
Levski began his education at a school in Karlovo, studying homespun tailoring as a local craftsman's apprentice. In 1855, Levski's uncle Basil—archimandrite and envoy of the Hilandar monastery—took him to Stara Zagora, where he attended school[21] and worked as Basil's servant. Afterward, Levski joined a clerical training course.[22] On 7 December 1858, he became an Orthodox monk in the Sopot monastery[23] under the religious name Ignatius (Игнатий, Ignatiy) and was promoted in 1859 to hierodeacon,[24][25] which later inspired one of Levski's informal nicknames, The Deacon