site.btaBulgaria Is among Countries in Europe with Richest Cultural Heritage, alongside Italy and Greece, Says Deputy Minister of Culture

On the occasion of an exhibition dedicated to the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee under the Bulgarian Presidency, Deputy Minister of Culture Todor Chobanov told BTA on Wednesday that  Bulgaria is one of the countries in Europe with the richest cultural heritage, alongside Italy and Greece. “On the one hand, this is a huge opportunity, a legacy from the centuries, but on the other hand, it is a great responsibility. For this reason, we are doing everything possible to preserve it in the best possible condition,” said Chobanov. The exhibition will be  on display until August 6 on the pedestrian bridge next to the National Palace of Culture.

The idea behind the exhibition is to present to the Bulgarian public, to all those thousands of people who pass by, the rich cultural heritage that Bulgaria has preserved on its territory from all eras and all civilizations, Chobanov added.

"During the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee, we showed what Bulgaria has to offer in various exhibitions. We are working hard to move forward with sites from the tentative list, which is a national list of sites with the potential to be included in the world cultural heritage. People should know that this is not an easy or quick process. It takes years for a site to be included in the World Cultural Heritage list. This involves many expert missions organized by international expert groups appointed by UNESCO to work on the topic. Passers-by will be able to see which sites are on the tentative list, which sites have great scientific potential and, of course, those that are already included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List," said Chobanov.

"The exhibition will travel. We organized a similar exhibition on the UNESCO fence during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee. We will offer it to Bulgarian cultural institutions abroad. There is great interest schools in the country, which tend to choose such topics to build interest in cultural heritage among their students," the Deputy Minister of Culture added.

The exhibition includes 56 panels with photographs by Evgeni Dimitrov, Sergei Alexandrov, Yanitsa Ivanova, Silva Subkova, and Reni Petrova. Each panel has a QR code that can be scanned to obtain more information about each specific site. There is also a reference to the nomination of the extension of the Danube Limes and the extension of the Kazanlak Tomb as a serial site. Each of them is at a different stage of preparation, and the goal is to be able to boast of their inclusion in the next three to five years, said the Culture Ministry.