site.btaCulture Minister Rashidov: Demolished Landmark Tobacco Warehouse in Plovdiv Must Be Restored to Its Original Form

Culture Minister Rashidov: Demolished Landmark Tobacco Warehouse in Plovdiv Must Be Restored
to Its Original Form

Sofia, March 8 (BTA) - Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov said that the recently demolished landmark tobacco warehouse in the southern city of Plovdiv must be restored to its original form, the Culture Ministry reported on Tuesday.

The landmark building, which is a historical and cultural monument that housed valuable murals, was largely demolished during the weekend because of construction appetites. Plovdiv residents and organizations staged an anti-demolition protest on Monday, which made it to the newscasts of most Bulgarian TV channels.

Rashidov has ordered on Tuesday the initiation of proceedings for imposing administrative sanctions on those responsible for the destruction of the immovable property of cultural value. Those who demolished the tobacco warehouse, as well as those who allowed these grave violations, have violated the Cultural Heritage Act, the Culture Ministry's press release said.

The Culture Ministry recalls that its Directorate General Inspectorate for Protection of Cultural Heritage is empowered to order the perpetrators to cease the violations and restore the destroyed cultural monument to its original form.

The Culture Ministry has informed Plovdiv Municipality back in January of 2014 that the tobacco warehouse building falls into a protected territory and all interventions are subject to coordination under the Cultural Heritage Act. The Ministry will use all of its legal powers to remedy the consequences of this encroachment on cultural heritage, the press release said.   

A few years ago, another cultural monument was destroyed in the coastal city of Varna in a very similar way. The court back then ordered the perpetrators to restore the building to its original form at their own expense. The judgement has not yet been complied with and the likely reason is that those responsible are waiting for the legal deadline to expire so that they can start building on the site, which is also located in Varna's city centre.