In Bulgaria 120 religious sites are abandoned and 50 need emergency repair

Interviewed by the national newspaper “24 Sega” (24 Hours) the Director of the Bulgarian National Museum of History, Mr. Bozhidar Dimitrov, said that in Bulgaria there are almost 7.000 churches. Nearly 1.000 churches were built after the end of the communist era, in 1989.

By Ann Wuyts – originally posted to Flickr as Sofia – National Museum of History, CC BY 2.0

Almost 100 medieval churches have been classified by the Bulgarian State as monuments of culture.

Most of the new churches are built with the help of private sponsors, because the State’s subsidies are not enough.

There are orthodox religious sites almost everywhere in Bulgaria: for instance there are churches and monasteries in Varna, Veliko Tarnovo Gorna Oryahovitsa. 495 temples and 13 monasteries exist only in Plovdiv Diocese.

Unfortunately 50 churches are still abandoned. They are located above all in Gabrovo, Bansko, Pernik, and even in Sofia. 71 monasteries are abandoned as well. Almost 30 temples and 23 monasteries should be urgently repaired.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church financed a restoration with 3 million BGN (EUR 1.5 million), but this amount is not enough for repairing all the religious heritage in this country.