Anastas Ishirkov

Anastas Ishirkov was a Bulgarian geographer, ethnographer, university professor, academician of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and founder of the Bulgarian Geographical Society. He is regarded as the founder of modern geography in Bulgaria and served as rector of Sofia University (1915–1916) and three times as dean of its Faculty of History and Philology.

Educated in Sofia, Leipzig, Berlin, and Nancy, Ishirkov studied under Friedrich Ratzel and Ferdinand von Richthofen, becoming a key promoter of anthropogeography and political geography in Bulgaria. He authored over 30 books and hundreds of studies in Bulgarian and foreign languages, including Hydrography of Bulgaria and Bulgaria: Geographical Notes. His work covered economic geography, settlement studies, hydrology, climatology, geomorphology, and ethnography.

Ishirkov devoted significant research to Macedonia, combining fieldwork with ethnographic and political studies. He opposed Serbian geographer Jovan Cvijić, defending the Bulgarian national character of the region’s population. His writings on the cultural-political geography of Macedonia and Southern Thrace were influential both academically and in Bulgaria’s diplomatic efforts during and after the Balkan Wars and World War I.

A respected public figure, Ishirkov took part in scientific expeditions, cultural missions abroad, and represented Bulgaria at international congresses. He was decorated with several national orders and was a major benefactor to Sofia University, donating his library and endowment funds to support geographical research. Today, streets, institutions, and memorials in Bulgaria commemorate his contribution to science and national culture.