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Bilingual short film presents the treasures of the National Man and Earth Museum

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Photo: Man and Earth National Museum

The kingdom of minerals and crystals, hidden in the heart of the Bulgarian capital, is already attracting more visitors through a new short film presenting the multiple dimensions of this little-known landmark in Sofia.

Why is it worth paying a visit to the National Man and Earth Museum? We can find out by seeing the new short film with English subtitles, presenting the Museum as a venue for numerous scientific and cultural events - thematic expositions, exhibitions, concerts, educational programs, research activities.


Opened in 1987, the National Earth and Man Museum shows us the exciting relationship of Man with Nature through its unique exhibitions. The most attractive among them is the exhibition Giant Crystals found extremely rarely in nature. The world's richest collection of giant quartz crystals is located here. It is in Sofia thanks to our compatriot from Brazil, Ilia Delev, who "was the first in the world to start saving the unique natural creations – the giant crystals, from their destruction during the mining activity", Svetlana Encheva, director of the National Earth and Man Museum, explains to BNR.

Mineral lovers can enjoy here the richest systematic collection of earth minerals in Southeast Europe, as well as unique mineral finds from Bulgaria, among which Bulgarian agates with a wealth of shapes and colours

Visitors can, of course, get up close and personal with the "nobility" of the mineral kingdom - the precious stones, as, along with the popular diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald, aquamarine, turquoise, the lesser-known tanzanite, hydenite, and cordierite are also on display.

The film also briefly presents the history of the museum building, dating from the late 19th - early 20th century, today a monument of culture, part of the Sofia Arsenal complex and a representative of the capital's industrial architectural heritage. Before becoming a museum, the building was an armoury and a State Printing Office.


And there is something that visitors can hardly guess – in the main exhibition hall of the museum, we can hear the sound of a pipe organ. It is being built by the Bulgarian organ master and musician Rosen Draganov.

The largest Bulgarian symphony orchestras, choirs and notable soloists also give concerts here.

Every year on June 19, the Day of the Donor is celebrated, when an exposition with new donations is opened. Among the donors is the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute with specimens from far-away Antarctica.


Among the most anticipated guests of the Museum are children, as here they can enter the world of geology and mineralogy through play. They can pan for gold, study minerals under a microscope, do real science experiments, listen to stories about precious stones.

The production of the new promotional film of the National Earth and Man Museum was done under a project under the Program for the Restoration and Development of State, Regional and Municipal Cultural Institutes of the National Culture Fund.

The video presentation can be viewed in all online channels of the National Earth and Man Museum.

Another project, again implemented with the financial support of the National Culture Fund, is a Virtual Tour of the museum with interactive tags. It enables people from all over the world to take a stroll around the museum's halls from afar.


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Published by Rositsa Petcova


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