WorldTravelGate.net® - Culture of Bourgas,Bulgaria.

Bourgas is the fourth largest city in Bulgaria, situated in the southeastern part of the country. The climate here is temperately continental with a distinct impact from the Black Sea. The Port of Bourgas is the biggest seaport in the country. The favourable geographical location and advanced transport infrastructure of Bourgas are good prerequisites for the development of tourism and trade.

The City of Bourgas consists of 8 housing regions with more than 226,000 inhabitants, an area of about 2,800 hectare with a built housing area of 843,257 m², 72,930 lodgings. For the first time the name of Bourgas appeared as early as 1306 in a poem by Manuel Phil, Byzantine poet, as Pirgos - the Greek equivalent to the Latin word Burgos, i.e., 'the Tower': a name preserved in local legends, and dating as back as 1st or 2nd century AD, when a Roman travel station was functioning at the place of the present-day harbour. The earliest life can be traced back to the Bronze and the beginning of the Iron Ages; while a number of finds, treasures and archaeological sites have witnessed to live activities during the Thracian epoch, that is to say the second half of 4 BC. Yoan Exarch, one of Bulgaria's pre-renaissance authors, wrote: "the sea brings all that is distant together". It is the sea itself that is shaping the appearance of Bourgas, the spirit of its people and the original atmosphere due to century-old contacts with various nations and civilizations. Bourgas has always been open to the world and the world's economy and culture by means of its harbour, where more than 1,500 vessels and a large number of petroleum tankers are mooring each year. The Port of Bourgas is the biggest seaport in the country. The region is one with a best developed industry in Bulgaria - oil refinery, machines building, cables production, ship yards, food industry, harbour - totally 35 big industrial plants. One of the biggest industrial plants on the Balkan Peninsula, Neftochim-EAD, is located in the vicinity of the city. A Duty Free Zone was established in 1989 with the objective to create most attractive conditions for foreign investors. The city has an airport with the best weather conditions when considering the Balkan Peninsula and is a big railway and road traffic centre, too.

As an economic potential, measured by activities, incomes and durable assets in material production, the Municipality of Bourgas takes the second place among Bulgarian municipalities. Top ranking is industry, which forms 86,69 %, trade - 8,16 %, transport - 3,22 % of the incomes. On the municipal territory there are over 15,000 registered companies. The unemployment level is 4,3 %. Bourgas is not only an important industrial center in the country; it has also considerable resources for tourism. What attracts people here mostly is undoubtedly the sea. The city is a starting point for visiting the seaside resorts in the area - The Slantchev Bryag resort and The Elenite holiday village to the north and The Duni holiday village, renowned for its unique architectural composition, to the south. The climate here is temperately continental with a distinct impact from the sea. Every year Bourgas is visited by over 180,000 foreign and Bulgarian tourists. 7 state-owned and 11 municipal institutes foster Art and culture, together with propagation of cultural values. On the territory of Bourgas municipality there are 2 universities and 4 colleges comprising more than 6,200 Bulgarian and foreign students. In the Municipality of Bourgas there are 27 primary schools, 28 secondary and high schools. In the city are functioning 13 polyclinics and hospitals and about 220 private medical practice institutes. Municipality of Bourgas with its favourable geographic position and the existing potential of material and labor resources, environmental characteristics and well developed communications has all prerequisites to be developed to a powerful finance and economic center.

The Art Gallery of Bourgas ranks among one of the oldest ones in Bulgaria. It is located in the former Jewish synagogue, a remarkable architectural monument built in the period from 1905 to 1910 by Ricardo Toscani, an Italian architect. It was originally founded in 1945 with the joint participation of prominent public figures, artists and artistic circles. "The Picture Gallery and Museum" was ceremoniously opened in the Stock Exchange Hall of the Chamber of Commerce on April 7th,1947. At that time the inventory of the Gallery comprised 58 paintings and 6 sculptures. In the years that followed, the number of art objects increased considerably from numerous individual and joint exhibitions. From September 1966 on, the Art Gallery was permanently set up in the building of the Jewish synagogue which had been revamped for that purpose accordingly

Today the Art Gallery of Bourgas is an important cultural centre of the city. It is a popular venue for delivering lectures, holding meetings with famous artists, recitals, chamber concerts, etc. It boasts a good number of visitors, both from the country and abroad.

Another cultural event that takes place yearly is the Bourgas International Folklore Festival. It was created in 1965 and since then it has gained international prestige as a result of its high professionalism and the authenticity of the peoples' traditional wealth. In 1978 it was granted membership to The International Council of the Organizers of Folklore Festivals- CIOFF; since 2001 it is a member of the International Festivals & Events Association Europe /IFEA/. Every year representatives of different continents meet at the seashore to present the folk heritage they bear deep in themselves.

Concerts in Bourgas and its region, a festive defile, a scientific conference, traditional souvenirs exhibition with bazaar, folk crafts workshop, photographing and videotaping of the festival activities are also included in the Program of the International Folklore Festival.

Children choirs have created a long tradition in Bulgaria. The Plovdiv choir is believed to have reached classical standards; the Children and Vocal Choral School of Bourgas Choir, though, form another delightfully successful example. The children and youth choral school of Bourgas is one of the well known musical non professional formations in Bulgaria. During 1947 a children choir was established in Bourgas , which formed the basis for organizing entire choral school years later (1962). Since 1972 its stabilizing and permanently ascending development can be noted. The participants in the Choral School are students from different schools in the town ranging from 5 to 19 years of age. For some reason, most of the participants appear to be girls, but some intrepid boys join in. Up to 200 children participate. They are grouped in different formations according to their age and their singing experience.

The appeal of Bourgas is surely its wealth of authentic monuments evoking a centuries-long history from the New Stone Age to the 15th Century. It has one of the richest museum collections of sea faring artifacts in the Balkans.
The History Exposition combines the modern history of Bourgas and the region during the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes a rare collection of Christian monuments; Bulgarian icons of the National Revival Period, church vessels and old printed church-Slavonic literature.

There is also one of the most intriguing displays of photographic documents about the economic and cultural development of Bourgas after Bulgaria’s liberation in 1878.
Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral was built in 1894-1905 with donations from prominent citizens of Bourgas. Cyril and Methodius were brothers who created the Slavonic alphabet and are depicted in a beautiful stained glass work at the main entrance to the cathedral. Inside the church, there are unique icons and an iconostasis.
Other fascinating sites include, the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Holy Virgin (Sveta Bogoroditsa), the two Catholic churches, the Armenian Church and the Natural Science Museum.

A visit to Bourgas is not complete without trips to the Ethnographic Museum, the Natural Science Museum, the Art Gallery and the numerous exhibition halls. If it’s sport you are looking for, there are numerous sporting facilities, two stadiums and the beautiful Seaside Park.
The town celebrates its patron saint, St. Nicholas the Miracle Maker, on December 6. According to local tradition, he was the protector of the families of sailors and fishermen.

UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette), is a Non-Governmental Organization affiliated to UNESCO bringing together people from around the world who contribute to the development of the art of puppetry with the objective of using this art in the pursuit of human values such as peace and mutual understanding between peoples regardless of race, political or religious convictions and differences in culture, in accordance with the respect for fundamental human rights as defined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10th 1948. Here in Bourgas, as well as in Bulgaria in general, this tradition is strong and blooming. For our visitors to have an idea, it is good to know that there are more than 55 state or private institutions in Bulgaria dedicated to the development of this form of Art.

Once in Bourgas, you can visit Theatre Delfinche Address: ul."D-r Nider" 5A, Bourgas 8000, Bulgaria, Contacts: Tania Yankova, Phone: +56/ 4 48 89 or, (here we can also have Internet access) contact the State Puppet Theatre Bourgas Address: "Kliment Ohridski" Street 2, Bourgas 8000, Bulgaria Manager: Hristina Arsenova, phone: +56/ 84 29 98, E-mail: kukli_bs@burgas.techno-link.com

The main goal of the Project is to establish a sustainable working structure, which will continue to manage and protect these important wetlands after the Programme and the Project are over. All governmental and non-governmental organisations, the business and the public at large should find their proper place and role in this structure to help it perform in the best possible way its functions of safeguarding the protected areas in the region.

Project activities include implementation of management plans for the Atanasovsko Lake reserve and for the Poda Lagoon protected site. Working out a similar plan for the Vaya Lake, for the management of the reed-beds, as well as executing various conservation activities for the lakes in particular and for the top-priority species. Development of eco- and cognitive tourism, especially through operating the recently built and put into operation Information & Conservation Centre “Poda” and the forthcoming construction and opening of another one near the Atanasovsko Lake nature reserve shall be of considerable importance. Monitoring the various components of those wetland ecosystems will permit collection of unbiased information on their state as well as measures for their rational preservation and management undertaken where and when necessary.

Giving the broadest possible publicity of the Bourgas lakes and their extraordinarily rich biodiversity, particularly among the city of Bourgas and the district populace is another most important task of the project now executed.