site.btaHistoric Car Owners from Four Balkan Countries Join Vidin Parade

Historic car owners from Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Serbia paraded their wheeled possessions during the seventh edition of Vintage Vehicles Vidin, held in the Danubian town on Saturday. The 120 cars crawled from the Town Hall parking area to the landmark 10th-century Baba Vida Fortress, where they were displayed for visitors.

Kristian Dimitrov from Montana, Northwestern Bulgaria was one of the youngest entrants in the parade. The 20-year-old man presented two Trabants made in 1966 and 1982, respectively. The vehicles are absolutely authentic, with no repainted elements and with original upholstery, engine and suspension. "Only the tyres are new," Kristian told BTA. He said taking care of a historic car is a hobby, a way to satisfy your curiosity about the past, an opportunity to explore old engineering solutions, and a passion which words can hardly explain.

Dragos Manea from Romania was at the event with a group of friends who like driving around in their old cars. It was his fourth time at Vintage Vehicles Vidin. Branko Kapetanovic, 64, had driven 1,100 km from Croatia to Bulgaria to present his 1946 car. "This is my first visit to Vidin and Bulgaria, everything is very beautiful," he said.

Vidin Mayor Tsvetan Tsenkov, Deputy Mayor for Humanitarian Affairs Borislava Borissova and MP Lyuben Ivanov of the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria coalition were guests at the vehicle parade. The mayor thanked the organizer, Ivan Tsolov, for popularizing Vidin "as a place where people can see remarkable historic cars". Tsolov presented the guests with thank-you plaquettes. Parade entrants received awards.