The charity Viennese Ball in Sofia will support a new social cause

This year's edition scheduled for February 8 aims to assist children and families in need

published on 2/3/25 2:25 PM

Photo: wienerclub-bg.org

Support for the activities of the Institute of Social Activities and Practices in Sofia is the cause that will unite organizers and guests of the Viennese Ball, which has become a tradition for the Bulgarian capital. This year's edition, scheduled for February 8, is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Johann Strauss, and special guests will be musicians from the famous Strauss Capelle Wien orchestra.

The organizer of the event for yet another year is the Vienna Club association, whose chairman Nikolay Talev motivated the choice of cause talking to Radio Bulgaria:‎

"A phenomenon that has been neglected in recent years, such as crime and violence, whose victims are children, needs its own solution. This Institute needs such funding because with its current capabilities they have managed to build a municipal center, the so-called "Blue Room", where children can be listened to and, together with their parents, guided in the right direction, in order to prevent children from becoming participants or accomplices in many unpleasant events."

The Institute for Social Activities and Practices was established in 2001 and manages processes related to the provision of specialized social services, conducting research, training and providing professional support to children and families in difficult times. The team of this institution conducts numerous national and international studies, primarily in the field of violence against children and its prevention. However, this is not the first social service supported in the previous editions of the Vienna Ball in Bulgaria which has been held since 1996:

"With the funds from the first edition, we supported a home for disadvantaged children, located near Vratsa. Unfortunately, the situation with it was not at all rosy. With the funds we donated, we even had to buy taps for the sinks and showers," recalls Nikolay Talev.

He also recalls the specific occasion for the establishment of the Vienna Club association in October 1995 at the Austrian Embassy, as a voluntary and non-political organization:

"We established the Vienna Club on the occasion of the publication of the poetry collection of the wife of the then Austrian ambassador in Sofia (Erich Kirsten - author's note), because we decided to unite people who would like to present both Bulgarian art in Austria and Austrian art here. The idea of trying to organize a Viennese ball arose spontaneously, which took place in the then Central Army House (today the Central Military Club). We wanted to make it as close as possible to the balls held in Vienna, and that is why we decided on this building. Unfortunately, there are too few places in it, which forced the ball to be held in other places in the following years and to this day." ‎

The balls are called "Viennese" because they include the obligatory elements characteristic of balls held during the so-called Fasching - the carnival period before Lent. They are opened by "debutants and debutantes" - young men and women who are introduced to secular society for the first time, the ladies receive a souvenir gift, classical and modern dances are danced and a charity raffle is held.‎

‎The Viennese Ball in Sofia is held under the patronage of the Austrian Ambassador to Bulgaria and a prominent Bulgarian politician invited by him, and the event is attended by diplomats, ministers, members of parliament, businessmen and cultural figures.‎

Indeed, the building of the Military Club in the Bulgarian capital, designed by the former chief architect of Sofia, Adolph Vaclav Kolar, and fully ready by 1907, is an extremely suitable place for holding such elegant events. The history of social life in the Bulgarian capital tells us that the first balls in post-liberation Bulgaria were organized in the nearby palace personally by Prince Alexander I of Battenberg.

The building the Central Military Club in Sofia

However, the first balls were not particularly successful, because many of the invited prominent figures of Sofia were not well acquainted with either the specifics of the dances or the dress code required for the purpose. The wife of the then English consul in Sofia came to the prince's aid for the first ball, held on January 8, 1880, and she gave dancing lessons to the invited couples. Over time, however, this changed and even ordinary people, who did not have access to the balls organized by the aristocracy, began to hold their own parties which were with open admission. Although without particular glamour, these gatherings created a good mood and were very popular with the citizens.

Photos: wienerclub-bg.org, BGNES

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The charity Viennese Ball in Sofia will support a new social cause

This year's edition scheduled for February 8 aims to assist children and families in need

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