The museum of the University of Forestry (UF) was established on July 14, 1975 by Order N 542 of the Rector of VLTI Prof. Al. Iliev.
The idea for the museum was to reflect the development of forestry education, science and practice dating back to the liberation of Bulgaria. The realization of this idea started during the celebration of 50 anniversary of Higher forestry education – 1975.
Founder of the Museum and its first head was Prof. Svilen Nikolov. “…Very often, descendants—just one or two generations later—no longer value these documents, and the pace of modern life often compels them to part with ‘old’ and ‘unnecessary things’,” shares Prof. Nikolov. His appeal—“to collect and preserve for history and future generations everything that risks being forgotten”—remains just as meaningful today. 

The main objectives of the Museum are mainly in the following areas:

• Searching, collection and storage of archival research materials, documents, articles and other materials related to the development of forestry in Bulgaria;
• Processing, systematization and documentary coverage of the historical development of education, science and practice of the forestry in Bulgaria, the timber, woodworking and furniture industry, the landscape architecture and environmental protection, wildlife management, agriculture, veterinary medicine, etc.;.
• Promoting and realizing the revival-era ideals in Bulgaria of preserving the memory of generations connected to one of the nation’s greatest treasures — its forests and the people who have dedicated their lives to them.

One of the most valuable and significant achievements of the early leaders of the newly established Museum was the collection of written memoirs from veterans in the field of forestry. Among them, several deserve special mention: Stefan Sinivirski, a graduate of Lviv, who played a key role in the inventorying of forests in the then-little-known Strandzha region, and whose foresight led to the initiation of the protected area “Gorna Elenitsa–Silkosia”; Zahari Bachvarov and Todor Ivanov, members of the first graduating class of the Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry; and Dimitar Zagorov, head of the Department of Forests, Hunting, and Fisheries. Many more names deserve recognition, but the list is too long to include in full.
A significant part of the museum’s collection is the donated book archive—including books, textbooks, proceedings, article reprints, manuscripts, and more—whose preservation deserves serious consideration and more active effort. Today, there are viable opportunities for this, such as digitizing books and publications that have long become bibliographic rarities. Examples include: “The Natural Riches of United Bulgaria” by Hermann(gild) Škorpil (1884); The earliest forestry regulations from the time of Ottoman rule (1870); The Annals of the Bulgarian Naturalists’ Society from 1896–1897;
The first forest map of Bulgaria (1894), created by Konstantin; Baikushev during his tenure as forester in the Tatar Pazardzhik region; The original manuscript of The Flora of Bulgaria by Nikoly Stoyanov and Boris Stefanov; The first drafts of university textbooks in Dendrology and Wood Anatomy by Boris Stefanov; reports and written impressions by various foreign experts who visited Bulgaria, explored its forests, and showed interest in the country’s forest management system and many other valuable and fascinating materials.
One of the most valuable assets of the University of Forestry Museum collection is its archive of photographs and negatives dating back to the late 19th century. For example, the archives of Yordan Mitrev and Prof. Methodi Ruskov contain glass plate negatives—a medium used in photography during that period. Between the Museum’s founding with a scientific archive (1975–2012) and the present day, over 955 archival items have been collected and catalogued. The majority of these—600 items—were gathered by V. Dochev.

Archives contain:

• Records of private individuals – documents, photos, books, memories, publications, manuscripts, awards. Also a number of paintings by our alumni were submitted to the Museum;
• Archives of institutions, forestry services, forestry colleges, environmental organizations and other celebrations.

The materials related to the field of education include content about:

• Our forestry students abroad (France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Poland, Yugoslavia) and Bulgaria in Sofia University and in the UF;
• Students in the forestry colleges;
• The forest guards, carpenters and others.

The collections in the field of science and practice are collected and continue to collect valuable materials, copyright licenses and documents relating to the development of forestry in Bulgaria and having great scientific and practical value.

Since 1989 the museum director was Prof. Georgy Puhalev.
From 2003 until now director of the museum is Prof. Ivan Paligorov.
For the period from 1975-1986, the first curator of the Museum was eng. Veselin Dochev who made great efforts to track and store the bulk of collected materials and documents. After him, for a period of several years, engineer Maria Belyakova, Delyana Peeva, Radina Tsacheva and Galina Danailova work as curators. From 2010 until now for organizing the Museum Chief Assistant Evgeni Tsavkov was appointed , who continues the collection, preservation, processing, and promotion of the materials.
At present, the Museum is actively working on digitizing the information recorded in the archival books. We express our hope that in the near future, we will be able to “exhibit” the contents of the archival units—along with the names of the donors, whose generosity and responsiveness made the existence of this museum possible.
In these challenging times, we hope to acquire the necessary equipment that will allow us to share our rich and fascinating forestry history with a wider audience.