Revolutionary Hristo Draganov

Hristo Draganov was a student, teacher, public figure and participant in the national liberation movement, born in the village of Klisura. After graduating from the secondary school in Filibe, he worked as a teacher in Batak and Nova Zagora, also engaging in trade and writing for the newspaper "Източно време". He showed a keen interest in revolutionary activity and co-founded the secret revolutionary committee in Klisura. He took an active part in the April Uprising, participating in its proclamation in Koprivshtitsa and Klisura in 1876.

After the uprising was crushed, Hristo Draganov crossed the Balkan Mountains with Pavel Bobekov and Mancho Manev and took refuge in Samovodene. The local people hid him there for three months before he emigrated to Romania. He later volunteered in the Russo-Turkish War and in the Serbo-Bulgarian War after Bulgaria's Unification.

Following these events, Hristo Draganov worked as a teacher in Karlovo, Klisura and Sevlievo. He held various public and administrative posts, including mayor of Sevlievo in 1893–1894, district school inspector and district governor. From 1920 to 1927 he was librarian of the Razvitie Society and chairman of the Rositsa Chitalishte cultural centre in Sevlievo.

In gratitude to the people of Samovodene who had saved him in 1876, Hristo Draganov sent a substantial sum of money in 1927 to establish a charitable fund bearing his name. In accordance with his wishes, the fund was intended to reward pupils with excellent academic achievement and exemplary behaviour at the town's elementary or lower secondary school.