Vasil Aprilov

Vasil Aprilov was born in 1789, in Gabrovo in a wealthy family. He moved to live with his brothers in Moscow and later graduated with medical degree in Vienna. He interrupted his studies because of financial difficulties and settled in Odessa. In 1811 Aprilov began working in trades. He was influenced by the elite Greek culture, but the book “Ancient and Modern Bulgarians” by the Ukrainian scientist Yuriy Venelin transformed him and provoked his Bulgarian subconsciousness. From that moment, he began devoting his time to Bulgarian education.

His program for developing the new Bulgarian education foresaw the beginning of a new secular school which would use monitorial system of teaching and the Bulgarian language. It would educate students to become teachers and spread the new Bulgarian education. A development of a range of new Bulgarian schools in all regions of the country, the creation of student’s books and the beginning of the printing press were envisaged. Vasil Aprilov decided to open a school in his hometown Gabrovo. He connected with the wealth of Gabrovo: Nikolay Palauzov, who lived in Odessa, the Bulgarians from Bucharest Yovchev, Kilifarov, Ivan Hadzhibakaloglu, the Mustakovi brothers, the wealthy residents of Gabrovo who donate for the new school. It opened on 2ndJanuary 1835 in Gabrovo. Vasil Aprilov donated and the first sum for the building of the high school of Gabrovo.

He died in 1847.

In 1872 the school of Gabrovo developed into the First High School in the enslaved Bulgarian land.

In 1889 the school was named Aprilov High School after its benefactor.

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