A number of cultural and charitable organizations…

A number of cultural and charitable organizations founded in Constantinople in the mid-1800s, support and direct Bulgarian national institutions that resist Ottoman and Greek influence.

The social institution of the chitalishte (literally "reading room") plays an important cultural role beginning in 1856.

Established in population centers by adult education societies, the chitalishte is a center for social gatherings, lectures, performances, and debates.

Because it is available to the entire public, this institution spreads national cultural and political ideals beyond the intelligentsia to the larger society.

By 1878 there will be one hundred and thirty-one such centers.