site.btaBulgarian Gardening Could Be Listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hungary

The Association of Bulgarians in Hungary together with the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government have submitted an official application for the inscription of the Tradition of Bulgarian Gardeners in Hungary in the UNESCO National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage - Hungary, BTA learned Thursday from Yordan Tyutyunkov, member of the editorial board of Bulgarian News - Hungary.

As part of the efforts to preserve and present the horticultural heritage, cooperation with the Ethnographic Open Air Museum in Szentendre (Skanzen) has been initiated. "We are working together to create a model Bulgarian garden that will authentically present both the agricultural techniques of our ancestors and the lifestyle of Bulgarian gardeners," said Tyutyunkov.

"In the first year, we will start with growing delicious Bulgarian tomato varieties, and in the following seasons the garden will be enriched with other traditional vegetable crops. The project aims to introduce visitors to the contribution of Bulgarians to Hungarian agrarian culture and to show what it means to create a life and livelihood from nothing - with hard work, knowledge and perseverance," he said.

"Bulgarian gardeners are not just the founders of the country's vegetable production - they are the foundation of Hungary's modern agrarian culture. They are the ones who trained local farmers how to grow vegetables outdoors, under foil and in greenhouses, and introduced intensive methods and sustainable farming," explained Tyutyunkov.

"It is important to underscore that Bulgarian gardeners are the moral pioneers of organic farming - long before this concept became fashionable. They have put into practice the principles of sustainable development, circular economy and zero waste, guided not by fashion but by traditional wisdom, responsibility to the earth and respect for nature," he commented.

Today, he said, more and more people are feeling nostalgic for old, authentic varieties of vegetables whose taste is unique. "These varieties are once again in demand on the market, and interest in them is growing. This confirms that it is our task - and our responsibility - to pass on what Bulgarian gardeners have bequeathed to new generations, so that this tradition does not remain only in the archives of history, but continues to live, inspire and develop," said Tyutyunkov, explaining that for the Bulgarian community in Hungary, this application has symbolic and cultural significance. 

"It confirms our centuries-old roots, pays tribute to the work of our ancestors and inscribes our tradition worthily among the riches of Hungarian cultural heritage. Inscription in the Register is not only an acknowledgement of the past; it is a pledge for the future, a guarantee that our Bulgarian identity will remain a living heritage that we will proudly pass on to future generations," Tyutyunkov told BTA.