Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Pirogov emergency hospital marks 120 years since its establishment

Photo: archive

In 1920 the Bulgarian Red Cross association opened a Red Cross hospital near Sofia as part of the nursing school. The idea of setting up an emergency hospital belongs to dozens of Bulgarian medics who graduated and specialized in Russia, France, Austria, Germany, USA. It soon developed into a fundamental element of medical care in Sofia.

With the help of benefactors the hospital organized a wide range of social activities. During World War II it set up field hospitals. After 1945 the Red Cross hospital became the principal first aid facility in Bulgaria. In 1947 it organized the first air ambulance in the country. Since 1951 it has borne the name of Russian field surgeon Nikolay Pirogov. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Iliana Iotova

Iliana Iotova: No one has reassured Bulgarians that there will be no fuel problems

''I am not surprised that the president’s veto concerning the sale of Lukoil’s assets was overturned, because even on such a delicate, serious and worrying issue, there were no arguments or discussion'', Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists..

published on 11/6/25 5:54 PM
A press conference of the Bulgarian Association of Sterility and Reproductive Health

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% since 1994

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% over the past three decades. In 1994, 79,442 live births were registered in the country, while in 2024 the number dropped to 53,428. 6.5% of Bulgarian children are now born through in vitro fertilization..

published on 11/6/25 5:15 PM

MPs override President's veto on changes to Investment Promotion Act

The majority in parliament overcame the president's veto on the Investment Promotion Act. The bill was passed in second reading on October 24, but President Rumen Radev vetoed parts of it, arguing that the proposed rules specifically..

published on 11/6/25 4:41 PM