site.btaMayor Says Historic Petrova Niva Site Turned into Logging Area

The historic site of Petrova Niva, located in Southeast Bulgaria, has been turned into a logging area, Malко Tarnovo Mayor Iliyan Yanchev wrote on his official Facebook page.

He posted photos and videos showing trucks loaded with harvested timber traveling along the road leading to the site.

According to Yanchev, logging activities have caused serious damage to the area and the access road, leaving deep ruts and destruction due to the passage of heavy trucks.

He said he cannot accept that a national shrine is being treated as a temporary logging site and called for an inspection and for the damage to be repaired at the expense of the responsible institutions.

The Mayor also wrote that he does not want written explanations from officials and insists that the Minister of Agriculture and Food personally engage with the case. He warned that access to Petrova Niva is being destroyed before everyone’s eyes and expects swift action. In his post, Yanchev stressed that Petrova Niva is among the most sacred places in Bulgaria and the site where the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising was proclaimed [1903] – a symbol of statehood and self-sacrifice.