Editorial: Fifty years since the resurrection of the journal Geologica Balcanica

The present year 2025 marks two remarkable jubilees: 100 years since the foundation of the Bulgarian Geological Society, and 50 years since the resumption of Geologica Balcanica after a 23-years break. In these short notes, some important moments from the history of the journal are shared.
   The journal Geologica Balcanica is closely connected with the activities of two remarkable Bulgarian geologists: Prof. Stefan Bončev and his son Academician Prof. Ekim Bončev. Both were bearers of the best traditions of the Bulgarian National Revival of the 19^th Century, and made major contributions to the development of all aspects of geosciences in Bulgaria. The journal has been founded in 1934 by Stefan Bončev who published the first three volumes on his own responsibility and means, and obtained the financial aid of the Sofia University for the fourth volume, published in the difficult years of the war. After the war the number of acting geologists diminished, and most journals were suspended or put under strict government control. The situation became favorable again in the next 20 years, and Ekim Bončev succeeded in 1974 to organize the resumption of this important Bulgarian journal. During the fifty years since that time, under a total of six consecutive chief editors, the full collaboration by the Editorial Board and the Geological Institute and financial support by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the journal has been gradually modernized, obtained a good international reputation, and continues to be a good tribune to Balkan geology.