site.btaStara Zagora Exemplifies Bulgaria's Traditions in Development of Regions, Says BTA Director General

Stara Zagora is an example that Bulgaria has traditions in the development of its regions, which did not begin with its accession to the European Union, but has continued with EU support, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said at the opening of a local conference under BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project. The conference was held at the BTA National Press Club here on Wednesday.

Valchev cited as examples of such investment the Stara Zagora State Opera and Trakia University. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Stara Zagora Opera, the first one outside the capital. He noted that the new opera house, built after a fire, opened in 2010, becoming the largest opera house in the Balkans and the first in Bulgaria designed specifically for opera. Valchev also said Stara Zagora has given the world artists such as Hristina Morfova, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Stefka Mineva and Vesselina Katsarova, to mention just a few.

Some of the Stara Zagora Opera productions are staged in the restored Roman Forum, which stands right next to the opera building, Valchev said. This serves as a reminder of the much more ancient history of millennia-long urban development in this area. It is evidenced by two Neolithic dwellings dating back to the 6th millennium BC, which are among the best-preserved and richest in inventory in Europe, he said. In his words, an exceptionally intriguing find is a clay figurine with a human head and animal body, resembling a sphinx. This sphinx is much smaller than the Great Sphinx of Giza but is far older - over 7,000 years old.

Trakia University is another example of Stara Zagora Region's multi-faceted development which continues in the EU but began much earlier. Valchev said the Higher Institute of Zootechnics and Veterinary Medicine was established in 1974 as the first higher education institution in Stara Zagora when the Agricultural Academy's Faculties of Zootechnics and Veterinary Medicine relocated to become Trakia University in 1995. The university builds on veterinary education in Bulgaria, which began at Sofia University in 1921, but is not confined to the capital, as the concept of regional development has always existed in this country, Valchev stressed.

He also pointed to the development and investment in the nearby Mini Maritsa-Iztok industrial complex, adding that its future is on the front burner as Bulgaria needs to make decisions about the region's future development.

BTA's Europe in the Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to talk about the exchange of knowledge among people in Bulgaria, the Balkans and elsewhere in the EU, so that they can get to know each other's contribution to the common life in the EU. "We often hear that Bulgaria receives EU funding, which leaves the impression that we solely benefit from our membership in the Union, but the truth is that the EU also benefits from Bulgarians, just as it benefits from other European nations," Valchev concluded.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. Until September 2025, BTA will host discussions at its press clubs in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.