Visit to Stara Planina Region, Bulgaria, April 10th – 17^th 2009

Introduction:

I was very pleased and delighted to be accepted for the Bulgaria trip by Archnetwork. I am very interested in the Balkans and Eastern Europe in general. I have visited Romania, Greece and Turkey previously and found them to be exotic, yet accessible, with a great many delights as yet uncovered by the British and Western tourist. As a historian/heritage worker, I am particularly interested in how cultural heritage/history is used in tourism, identity and social life. I am currently working with web sites of digital media and oral history, some of it intergenerational.                                                           Gordon in Etera

When asked about Bulgaria a quick straw poll amongst family and colleagues saw it as being darkly Eastern Bloc or run amok free enterprise. Both options are premised, rather stereotypically upon conceptions of Bulgaria’s political identity. Whilst both are “wrong” both have a basis in some truth, in that these polar opposites effect how the heritage sector is dynamically controlled.

In Bulgaria:

Our group was a mixed bag; public sector employee working in documentation, craft worker, artist/photographer, retired volunteer and a freelancer, myself, who usually works with the independent sector. One of the side benefits was the diversity of approaches, observations and recommendations we shared amongst ourselves, and with our hosts. Thus the learning was augmented, not just by our experiences of Bulgaria, but by mixing with our UK sectoral peers, most of whom we might never have encountered otherwise. Our main guide/translator was generous with her time and enthusiasm well beyond our requirements and certainly saw herself as an ambassadrice for her home nation. Her grasp of technical language and nuance was second to none and she answered questions as accurately as possible. She was an outstanding resource. The transport was safe, comfortable and well driven. The accommodation warm and clean; the food and drink was plentiful and tasty. Our itinerary was well planned with a variety of venues from several parts of the Stara Planina region. In our behind the scenes meetings we were given access to people and places that we would never, as tourists, have had opened to us. The staff and museum professionals, we encountered were enthusiastic that we would leave with a good impression of the country and their work. We were shown behind the scenes of the three levels of state run heritage – national, regional and local museums. We also saw something of the independent sector too.

Language:

Bulgarian is not a language that most westerners know even a few words, and though our guide did her best to translate what we heard, and indeed much of what we read, most transactions were done in Bulgarian in much of the sector. I say this with the conceit that English is arguably the number one language of both tourism and academic research. Of the many museums we saw there was not much in the way of English language captioning, or interpretation. I expect that the Bulgarian heritage sector may themselves rise to this challenge.

Heritage Context:

Bulgaria has much of a “best kept secret” about it. That it is the third most densely populated country in Europe, (the world?) for sites of heritage is astonishing, even more so that few people know that. Third only to Italy and Greece, this one fact alone makes it worthy of investigation. Yet little is known about it.

This fascinating cultural heritage coupled with a natural and largely unspoiled natural heritage recommend the country as a top tourist destination. Yet, it has no co-ordinated tourism strategy. The work of Silvia Hinkova, director of tourism for Stara Planina, ploughs a lone furrow in her attempts to redress the imbalance between the largely self-sustaining Black Sea resorts and the forgotten wonders inland.

The Valley of the Thracian Kings allegedly contains some 40,000 burial mounds, many potentially with hidden treasure, if the anthropologists understanding of Orphic burial is correct. Yet these are afforded no civil protection, and there are hints, by museum archaeologists that the government is a silent bystander in attempts to plunder and explore archaeological sites. Any treasure and relics enter the national stock, albeit in private hands, and become part of the legacy though neither ownership, care or provenance belongs to the state. Even those items held by millionaire collectors are borrowed by the government for exhibitions of national importance, as a recent show in China testifies.

Stara Planina also has a rich folk life. The village in Etara, the Korlovo Mummers mask museum and the woodcarving museum and workshop in Tryavna testify to the continuity afforded to these techniques and their curatorships under the socialist regime. There is much scholarship and enthusiasm surrounding ethnography in this area, and the fact that folk skills are being actively maintained is worthy of international attention.

Etara, however, is a notable exception and arguably a case study in funding and diversification, which the UK heritage sector would do well to heed. They receive only 20% of their funding from the state, yet manage to maintain an international reputation amongst their kind. They run their own hotel, and have a sublet restaurant and franchised workshops where artisans are guaranteed a through flow of visitors to sell their work. This business diversity allows the museum to carry on with its core business whilst still ensuring a healthy cash flow.

The park also seems to be a family venue, used as a partner for the celebration of Easter, and other feast days, it is thus a “day out” rather than a dry educational opportunity.

Financial and administrative context:

With much of my own work, even with the private sector, being dependent upon public finance, I sought to get an understanding of how the sector is organised and how that effected operations, strategy and policy. It seems that the museums are organised in three strata – national, regional and local museums. The National museums are answerable to the government and are quite often used as showcase establishments for the heritage sector. Each region has a regional museum, one, which is also answerable to the government, but has also an obligation to support the adjacent local museums, which are to a large extent self-funding. There is a great deal of interest in European money for both project and capital funding but there is little evidence of that, as yet. Many folk complain that entry to the EEC has brought little except increased prices. However, the Iskra history museum at Kazanlak, seems to have gained an impressive new gallery, though perhaps such things, given the subject matter - Thracian gold treasure – may just be the show business end of archaeology and heritage.

Heritage professionals, and associated academics are not well-paid, yet seem devoted to their job and have a mission to show the world the fascination of Bulgaria. Several we met, particularly the younger ones, or those from the nationals, have a command of English and seemed to enjoy using it.

It might be inferred that Bulgaria is in transition, between the government desire to hold and control, a relic of the socialist era, and the challenges afforded by the both free markets and the recent entry into the EEC. Whilst the Lev still remains the currency, many operations, particularly those in Sofia and tourist-driven ones, will accept Euros.

Interpretation:

Whilst lack of financial resource may be the reason, it is still worth commenting upon the lack of contextual interpretation in many museums and heritage parks. Certainly several operations provided a guide, speaking, in our case, in English, it is doubtful whether this would be the general rule for Bulgarian visitors. Judging by the size and location of museum display text, we can only assume that there is some assumption of prior knowledge in museum practice. At our meeting with the director of the National Technological museum, she indicated that she taught museum skills to graduate students in Sofia, yet it seems that there is little in the way of applied practice in this field on display. Even the National History Museum seems to offer antiquities with only captioning in evidence, and whilst the gold artefacts are themselves breathtaking, modern museum practice would indicate that more about their provenance and context would yield greater educational benefits. It may be however, that the strategy is set thus to stimulate purchase of guide books in appropriate languages.

The biggest disappointment for me was the Mummers Masks Museum at Korlovo. Named specifically in the trip title, the photos would seem to indicate that this was a highlight. This is an excellent opportunity for a vivid display with audio visual content in many languages and perhaps periodic re-enactment of these otherworldly costumes in action.

In addition, non-invasive techniques would lend themselves beautifully in a potentially non-invasive way to the complexes at Etara and Bozhentsi village.

Volunteering

In the UK, much is made of the ability of the heritage sector to work with volunteers, particularly retired ones, thus ensuring benefits of healthy ageing and a skilled and enthusiastic workforce. In Bulgaria there seems to be little evidence of this and the concept is almost alien (barring the folk dance/play participants in Etara). When we enquired, we were told that there is little retirement as there are few pensions worth anything these days. Yet they might have much to offer, both as respondents for oral history interview and as labour for certain duties. There is some interest in the fall of the socialist state, and the transition back to free-market economies, which would provide a fascinating information to understand the changes of the last 20 turbulent years, in both a national and local context. Many museums in the UK have “friends of” organisations, which do small amounts of maintenance work and fund raise, both in a hands-on and strategic way.

Sofia

In contrast to much of the rest of what we have seen, the capital city seems awash with money, as befits a modern European capital. Yet, with some notable exceptions, the same imbalance occurs with respect to funding in the heritage sector. The museum of Science and Technology seems to suffer from underfunding, yet holds strong to its commitment to school age education, adhering to vivid displays of scientific principles, by its demonstrator. Its exhibition does much to tell the story of Bulgarian science, a contribution worth telling, whilst on a tight budget. Interactivity, so much the selling point of Western science museums is minimal. Whilst in the Roman Cathedral, we were lucky to be taken on an unofficial tour of the excavation of the basement tombs, by the lead archaeologist. Noticeboards, seemed to explain in great detail, the process, as it is to be done. It seemed that there was much to be done and that, as befits all public projects, progress is slow. By contrast, the Sofia Circus hotel has considerately integrated a segment of the Amphitheatre into its design, a breathtaking achievement, financed by the room fees of the Nouveau Riche.

Personal Highlights.

The palimpsest of history that is Sofia.

Chancing upon a gold-crested temple or monastery glanced through the trees.

The friendliness and enthusiasm of the museum staff

The multiple income streams at Etara Ethnographic Museum

The folk dancing and play at Etara

Yogurt with walnuts and honey

Kamenetsa Lager

The helicopter gunship at the National History Museum

The story of Bulgarian Icons, Dryanova

The proliferation of monuments

The museum of Humour and Surrealism, Gabrovo

Huge Empty factories, Gabrovo

Guessing what the view was like at Shipka Pass

Bulgaria is a fascinating country, with beautiful scenery, a fascinating history and a great many sites of cultural heritage. I would like to come and work there for a period, but would also delight in taking my family, though probably to the Black Sea coast, at least initially.