Most historic sites in Sofia have been rehabilitated with EU money

Liubov Plămădedeală, TV8, August 7, 2024

TV8 Studio Host: We continue the I Want in Europe campaign with a country much closer to us and which was part of the penultimate wave of EU enlargement. We’re talking about Bulgaria, which joined the big European family in 2007, alongside Romania. It has benefited from EU funding not only for economic recovery and social cohesion, but also for the rehabilitation of historic buildings.

The TV8 team visited several locations in the capital Sofia that have come to life in recent years, attracting almost 2 million tourists a year.

Liubov Plămădeală: “We are in the heart of Sofia. Thirteen years ago, a group of Bulgarian archaeologists discovered the ruins of an ancient Roman city here. Here you can see the remains of houses, but also the streets that once pulsed with life.”

What you see is Serdika, as Sofia was called during the Roman Empire. The ruins contain parts of the ancient city walls, medieval buildings and eight streets that were uncovered between 2010-2012, when construction began on the nearby metro station.

The local authorities immediately started looking for money to develop and preserve the historic gem, and a European fund worth €8m was a big help. Otherwise they wouldn’t have succeeded – the money in the state budget was too little.

Todor Chobanov, former deputy mayor of Sofia and historian: “Today, in the heart of Sofia, almost all important institutions are located here. In many ways we have landscape continuity, but also functional continuity. For example, the building where the president works is right above the city council building from ancient times. It was a challenge to preserve this heritage, because you can imagine that a modern city has to grow and develop.”

And while locals have grown accustomed to the ancient ruins scattered all over the city, tourists remain impressed and stop to take pictures of every remaining testimony to the Roman Empire. According to official figures, Bulgaria’s capital is visited by almost 2 million tourists annually.

Tourist: “It’s an old city. And it’s very interesting to see it – inside and outside. It is important because it is our heritage in Europe.”

Todor Chobanov: “The number of tourists has increased in the last twenty years. The pandemic has affected tourism, but not for long. The number of tourists is estimated to be higher than the number of citizens in Sofia. The conclusion is that we are a tourist city.

Moving on to another historical gem. This is now the Sofia Regional History Museum. It is now the most beautiful building in the city, although it was once where most locals went for personal hygiene.

Boris Chilev, deputy director of the Sofia Regional History Museum: “Previously, this was the former central hygienic bath. That’s why Sofia City Council decided to put it at the disposal of the Sofia History Museum.”

This is what a local woman who has been living abroad for years and whom we surprised on her first visit to the museum remembers.

Bulgarian citizen: “I am from Sofia, but I don’t live in Bulgaria. I am visiting the museum for the first time. I remember the city’s bath once. When I was 10 or 15, I think it was still working. Then it was closed and went into decline. I think the building has been beautifully restored and the museum is in its place.”

The building has a long history, and before the museum arrived in the 1990s it began to be torn down. Work stopped, however, at the insistence of members of the Sofia council. For more than a decade, however, rehabilitating the museum was not a priority for the state, so no money could be found for it. Reconstruction only became possible in 2013, when a European fund for the preservation of national heritage worth more than €2m was tapped. The museum’s deputy director says Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union has contributed to the fact that the site is now visited by millions of tourists and locals.

Boris Chilev: “Especially on the roof. As for the facades, money was spent annually to restore them. The investment project, which was under the international program, was the interior and the permanent exhibition.”

This is the largest exhibit in the museum which belonged to Tsar Ferdinand and was given by his mother as a wedding present. He traveled with it only once, from the railway station to the Royal Palace.

The permanent exhibition consists of 8 rooms with a total area of 2300 square meters and includes exhibits spanning more than 8000 years, from the Neolithic to the 1940s.

Why not teleport back to 1905 and see what a street in Sofia looked like then? This is the theme of the room I am in now. This car was also purchased by the royal family. It’s a Mercedes that won 2nd place in the car competition between Berlin and Munich.

Bulgarian citizen: “I like it very much. It’s very nice. There are many things to visit here. The mixture of different parts of the city’s history can be seen here.”

Also with EU funding, one of the oldest churches in the Bulgarian capital and in Europe – St Sofia’s Church – has been restored. Legend has it that the city was named in honor of this holy place. The Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund, worth around €200,000, was accessed in 2016. And 3 years earlier, the necropolis, found by archaeologists just under the church building, was opened for tourists.

Boris Chilev: “Indeed, more than 100 tombs, sarcophaguses and mosaics from earlier periods are found underground.”

The EU’s priority is to preserve cultural heritage. Each year, two European cities are designated European capitals of culture. It’s a boost for local economies, but it also capitalizes on local artists and cultural treasures unique to each city. In 2019, the city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria, the second largest in the country, was also awarded this status. The next time a city in Bulgaria will enjoy this status will be in 2032.

Photo: Regional Sofia History Museum (source: YouTube)

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