Georgi Karavelov School - School History

Georgi Karavelov School, a history

In 1860, the first school opened in Shivachevo on the grounds of St. Dimitar’s Church. It was a humble beginning - the school consisted of a 5m long, 4m wide and 2m tall room on the grounds of the church. The first instructor was a man named Daskal Hristo from the nearby village of Drenta. In 1930, a cooperative building was completed with rooms designed for a shop, a cultural hall with a stage, a library and administrative offices. Four classes were held in the new building, but it was not enough for the increasing number of students. Construction of a new school building began in 1931. It was completed in 1934 and served all students in the village. In the autumn of 1944, the name of the school was changed to honor Georgi Aleksiev Karavelov, a local teacher and school director who had been killed in a field just outside of town by Bulgarian Fascists in the 1920s. A new three-story structure was finished in 1980, thus forming a school complex with two school buildings, a gymnasium and workshops for training students in wood-working and metal-working skills.