site.btaSEE Cultural Heritage Protection to Be Centred in Bulgaria

Bulgaria will become a regional centre for preserving the cultural heritage of Southeastern Europe, the National Institute of Immovable Cultural Heritage (NIICH) said. A working group is to be established in September to launch integration in the area of immovable cultural heritage among Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Turkey.

The centre is initiated by the French cultural institutes and embassies in Sofia and Bucharest, NIICH and the specialized restoration Ecole de Chaillot branch of the Paris-based Cite de l'architecture & du patrimoine. It will be a common platform for the countries to work together for preserving the immovable cultural heritage, as well as for providing EU funding for joint projects.

Commenting on the move, NIICH Director Peter Petrov said that the attitude to the immovable heritage has changed over the past century, shifting the concept of ownership from the citizens of individual countries to the level of global historical values that must be preserved, shown and adapted to modern times, and handed down to future generations.

Seaside resorts in the 20th century and cultural exchange along the Danube are the first aspects of regional cooperation already being discussed by experts from Bulgaria, Romania and France. The architectural heritage of the 20th century was also in focus during the recent French Presidency of the EU Council.

A case in point are the socialist-era resorts of Southeastern Europe, which have long attracted both tourists and researchers as a monument to the life and environment before the fall of the Berlin Wall. As it is, they are part of the all-European history of seaside resorts, the experts say.

Then again, the Danube links as many as ten countries, and is much more than a mere transport corridor. The river is the route of a cultural dialogue between the cities on its banks that changes them with time.

NIICH and the Cite de l'architecture & du patrimoine have a long-standing partnership, having organized specialized courses for architects with the Ecole de Chaillot for over 20 years. Architects from the countries participating in the initiative will also join in.