The demolition of the tobacco storehouses in Plovdiv and Harmanli raised again the topic about the preservation of the national cultural monuments in Bulgaria. Hundreds of other buildings across the country share the destiny of the recently destroyed tobacco warehouses. They are either abandoned, or demolished on purpose. This is mainly due to the lack of administrative capacity and lack of interest on municipal level. The negligence shown by the country’s municipalities stirred sharp public response and forced the National Assembly to adopt urgent amendments to the Cultural Heritage Act. According to one of the new measures, the municipalities must take care of the local cultural monuments, whereas the National Institute for Immovable Cultural Heritage was responsible for the protection of those monuments before the recent amendments. Thus, the projects for restoration, renovation or demolition of cultural monuments will be discussed in a timely manner. The amendments to the legislation introduce the principle of silent consent according to which, if an agreement isn’t reached within two months, the authorities automatically start fulfilling those projects. Architects and experts in cultural heritage said that the motifs behind the legislative amendments are very wrong, because the municipalities do not have the necessary financial resource and do not know the cultural sites in details.

They stood categorically against the silent consent, because it would lead to the demolition of cultural monuments. The authorities should make reforms, but those reforms should be based on an overall strategy aimed at protecting the Bulgarian cultural heritage, Georgi Belishki, representative of the Bulgarian National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, told Radio Bulgaria:

“We propose to launch a broad public forum aimed at the development of a national strategy for protection of the country’s cultural heritage. A modern information base for cultural valuables should be established immediately. We are talking about digitalization, update and synchronization of the cultural heritage protection regimes.”

The lack of traditions, finance, control and accessible online register of the cultural heritage, were among the topics discussed during the sitting of the Culture and Media Committee at the National Assembly. Bulgarian MP Vili Lilkov who brought the proposals of the experts from the Cultural Heritage Forum has more:

“Before we make any administrative reforms and amendments in this field we should update the registry of the immovable cultural valuables, because it is very old. It includes sites, which do not have the qualities of cultural monuments at the expense of others which meet the requirements, but were not included in the registry. Secondly, that registry must become digital and accessible to the public. The Director of the Institute for Immovable Cultural Heritage should be appointed by the Minister of Culture after a special competition. On the other hand, the municipalities must adhere strictly to all amendments to the Cultural Heritage Act. If we fail to make serous reforms in the whole system, all other types of reforms such as the silent consent, or the establishment of territorial units with the municipality mayors, are absolutely unnecessary.”

The problem regarding the preservation of the cultural monuments has been lasting for years, but the lawmakers have been always postponing its solution. Thus, many beautiful buildings were demolished and remained in the memories of the elderly people only. Today, they are replaced by new ones, which often have nothing in common with the surrounding architecture. Slowly, but surely, the Bulgarian cities are losing their charm and are gradually turning into concrete jungle. The European cities rely a lot on cultural and historical tourism and attract millions of tourists. Bulgaria also has the potential to develop successful cultural tourism and the relevant strategy has been already developed. If the Cultural Heritage Act remains in its current state, however, the architectural legacy of the past would be lost and the damages for the country would be huge.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov