site.btaBulgarian Gardening in Hungary Is Added to UNESCO’s National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The tradition of Bulgarian gardening in Hungary has been inscribed in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO,said Dr. Dancho Musev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government in Hungary, during celebrations marking Bulgaria’s Independence Day in Hungary.

He was quoted by Svetla Kyoseva, editor-in-chief of Hemus, a bilingual magazine on culture and public life.

Traditionally, the Bulgarian community in Hungary celebrated Independence Day on September 13 in Halasztelek. The day began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the “Bulgarian Dulap” monument, erected in honor of the Bulgarian gardeners who founded the settlement.

 “The inscription of the Bulgarian gardening tradition in the UNESCO register is the result of a century of hard work by our ancestors and the continued efforts of the Bulgarian community today,” said Kyoseva.

 “Bulgarian gardening in Hungary is not only a historical legacy but also a living body of knowledge and practice, passed down to future generations through community gardens, schools, kindergartens, and family traditions.”

“This is a new chapter in our shared history  preserving and passing on our spiritual heritage not only in registers, but in our hearts and our future,” stated the Bulgarian School and Kindergarten in Budapest on their Facebook page.

The official ceremony for awarding the certificate will take place on October 17 in Szentendre, two days before the holiday honoring St. John of Rila, which is also celebrated as the Day of Bulgarian-Hungarian Friendship.

The initiative to include Bulgarian market gardening in Hungary in the national list of intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO was first announced by Svetla Kyoseva at the opening of the 20th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia.

The Association of Bulgarians in Hungary, together with the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government, officially submitted the application for inscription of the Bulgarian gardening tradition in Hungary to the UNESCO National Register of Hungary in May this year. This was reported at the time for the “BG World” section of BTA by Yordan Tyutyunkov, a member of the editorial board of Bulgarski Vesti - Hungary.

As part of efforts to preserve and showcase the gardening heritage, a collaboration has begun with the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum in Szentendre (Skanzen).

 “We are working together to create a model Bulgarian garden, which will authentically present both the agricultural techniques of our ancestors and the daily life of Bulgarian gardeners,” said Yordan Tyutyunkov.

 “In the first year, we will start by growing flavorful Bulgarian tomato varieties, and in the following seasons, the garden will be enriched with other traditional vegetable crops. The project aims to educate visitors to the Skanzen about the Bulgarian contribution to Hungarian agricultural culture and to demonstrate what it means to create life and livelihood out of nothing - through hard work, knowledge, and perseverance,” he said.

On September 3, a Tomato Day was held at the Historic Botanical Garden of Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary.

The botanical garden in Budapest is the oldest in Hungary.

The Maritsa Vegetable Crops Research Institute has been supplying it for years with seeds of various Bulgarian tomato varieties, Kyoseva recalled.