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| Cover page of a Bulgarian-Albanian dictionary |
The Albanian language is regarded as a point of connection between Bulgarians and Albanians. Initially spoken exclusively by Albanians in Bulgaria, over centuries, Albanian has also become a written language. The Albanian language is studied at the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, established in 1988 in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. There is a department dedicated to the Albanian language in this university.
In the 18th century, Sofia was the epicenter of Albanian nationalists, including the Frashëri brothers Naim and Sami, Josif Gaberri, Kristo Luarasi, Ismail Qemali, and Fan Noli. They had a printing press in Sofia through which calls for Albanian independence from the Ottoman Empire were made. In 1901, Albanian newspapers like "Drita" and magazines like "Vetëtima" were printed in Sofia. The use of the Albanian language in Bulgaria gained momentum after Bulgaria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. Thoma Kaçorri, an Albanian, played a significant role, working at Sofia University from 1961 to 1980, teaching the Albanian language. The Bulgarian academic community considers him the last of the Albanian nationalists.
Today, the Albanian language is officially present in several institutions in Bulgaria, including the National Radio of Bulgaria, established in 1935 by Bulgarian King Boris III, who was well-versed in the Albanian language, having learned it in his childhood.
In the heart of Bulgaria lies the village of Mandrica, where the "Union for the Renaissance of Mandrica Village" society has been established, led by Ivalljo Petrov. The society's mission is to gather young people with roots in the village to preserve the Albanian language and ancient Albanian traditions. The association has published a Bulgarian-Albanian phrasebook in the Mandrica dialect, planning to release a book dedicated to the village's history in the future.
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| Albanians living in Mandrica, 1927 |
Albanians are a minority, classified as an ethnic group in Bulgaria. According to the 2001 census, there were only 278, but their true number is much higher and has been historically underestimated.
Ukrainian scholar Jaranov writes that Albanians in Bulgaria migrated from Korça, Ohrid, Elbasan, Çermenika, Golloborda, somewhere between the 15th and 19th centuries, and were later transferred to Ukraine. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, groups of Albanians from both Catholic and Orthodox faiths settled in various parts of northern Bulgaria, and a group in southern Thrace. Some of the earliest Albanian settlers in modern Bulgaria were miners in Kopilovtsi, a village near a major mining center.
Kopilovtsi was established between the 15th and 17th centuries, and a Catholic church was built in the early 17th century. The locals of Kopilovtsi were of Albanian origin and Catholic faith. In 1626, the Archbishop of Tivar, Pjetër Mazreku, stated that Catholics of Albanian origin were living in those parts of Bulgaria. According to Albanian bishop Pjetër Bogdani, Kopilovtsi had 1,200 Albanian Catholics in 1640 still speaking the Albanian language.
In another report from 1647, it lists 1,200 Catholic Albanians in Kopilovtsi, but they had started using Bulgarian. In 1658, Pjetër Bogdani noted that over 1,500 Albanians in Kopilovtsi were speaking Bulgarian and only a few traces of their original language remained.