site.btaRestoration of Saracoglu Inn Moves Forward with Bulgarian-Romanian Cooperation
Bulgaria and Romania are preparing a memorandum of cooperation for the restoration of the Saracoglu Inn, Deputy Culture Minister Ashot Kazaryan said in an interview with BTA on Thursday.
The financial framework is yet to be agreed, while Romanian officials from the institutions involved in the project are expected to visit Sofia.
On Thursday, Kazaryan was in Bucharest, where he visited the historic building alongside a delegation from the Bulgarian Embassy in Romania, led by Ambassador Radko Vlaykov, and met with leaders of the Romanian team engaged in the restoration and reinforcement of the inn.
“Owing to the efforts of our colleagues, and in particular I wish to single out the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and specifically Ambassador Vlaykov, this meeting was possible. Since 2024, three diplomats from the Embassy have participated in the Bucharest Municipality’s working group, which is planning the future of the Saracoglu Inn. We could have lost this site if Bulgaria had not taken such active steps,” Kazaryan said, expressing gratitude to the Romanian side as well for resuming work on the Saracoglu Inn.
Bulgaria will be given the opportunity to establish a multifunctional Bulgarian space within the restored building.
“The Bulgarian presence will be preserved and will even be distinctly represented in the future cultural space,” Kazaryan explained.
An interdepartmental working group—including experts from the Ministries of Culture, Finance and Foreign Affairs, scholars from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and likely representatives of the Bulgarian diaspora—will develop a conceptual project defining the design and functions of the Bulgarian space. This will feature a permanent historical exhibition on the Bulgarian Revival period and its figures who stayed at the inn, as well as a multipurpose hall for cultural events, lectures, screenings and receptions.
“In historical terms, this is a landmark building for Bulgaria, located on the territory of the Romanian capital, and it demonstrates the collaboration between our two countries dating far back in time. In this way, Romania has its own contribution to the revolutionary history of Bulgaria, so it is important to restore it,” Kazaryan added.
During Thursday, he also met with Bucharest Interim Mayor Stelian Bujduveanu and visited the Ministry of Culture to reiterate the importance of the Saracoglu Inn.
“We invited them as well to participate actively, so that together we can achieve the best possible outcome in restoring this landmark building,” Kazaryan said.
The Saracoglu Inn is included in the List of Historical Monuments of Bucharest. Built in the year of the unification of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldova, also known as the “Little Union”, the inn has hosted Bulgarian revolutionaries such as Hristo Botev, Vasil Levski and Lyuben Karavelov. It takes its name from two enterprising Saracoglu brothers from Svishtov.
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