The Miladinovi brothers

Konstantin and Dimitar Miladinovi contributed to the development of the Bulgarian social and cultural identity. In 1861 they published a book collection called ‘Bulgarian Folk Songs’. It gathered lyrics from different regions predominantly the Macedonian one. Josip Schtrossmaier was a Croatian bishop who helped with the logistics and financial support for the project. He was in love with the Bulgarian language and wanted to have the book published entirely in Bulgarian. However, after the book was published the brothers were captured and framed for being enemies of the empire. They were imprisoned in Tsarigrad where they later passed away.