On April 18, Bulgaria celebrates the International Day for the Preservation of Cultural Monuments. The day has been celebrated since 1984 by the UNESCO decision.
Of the nine Bulgarian sites on UNESCO’s Cultural and Natural Heritage List, seven are cultural monuments – the Boyan Church, the Madara Horseman, the Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak, the Rock Churches of the village of Ivanovo (Rusen region), the Ancient Nessebar, the Rila Monastery, the Thracian Tomb in the town of Sveshtari (Razgradsko) and two natural – Pirin National Park and The Silver Biosphere Reserve.
The UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage is Chiprovsk Carpets, Nestinarism, Surva Love, Bistrisk Grandmothers, and Gathering of Folk Art in Koprivshtitsa.
The international day for Monuments and Sites was also named world heritage day. It is an international observance held on April 18 each year worldwide with different types of activities, including visits to monuments and heritage sites.
On this day, the monumental management groups launch special offers and prices to attract more visitors to cultural heritage buildings.
The International Day for Monuments and cultural heritage was first approved on April 18, 1892, by International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). It was approved by UNESCO’s general assembly in 1983.
The primary objective behind this approval is to promote awareness about the diversity of humanity’s cultural heritage, vulnerability, and the efforts required for their protection and conservation.
As Bulgaria also celebrates World heritage day as the rest of the world, the Bishop’s Basilica of Philippopolis and iconic homes in the Old Town will be open to the public as part of Plovdiv’s celebration of the International Day For Monuments and Sites.
Residents and guests will have the chance to interact with the teams working on the Bishop’s Basilica of Philippopolis’s research, restoration, and public display.
The teams’ representatives will be on hand at the Basilica from 11:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 15:30. Daily from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, and the Basilica is open for business.