Bulgaria launches a campaign to promote cultural and historical tourism

We are launching a campaign to promote cultural and historical tourism in Bulgaria. We have chosen to start with the 6 sites, for which only a few days ago the Council of Ministers allocated funds for continuation of the research into them. One is the ancient and medieval town of Missionis, which is located on the territory of Targovishte(North-East Bulgaria), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Mariana Nikolova, told media on February during her visit to Targovishte.

She reminded that the decision of the cabinet to provide funds of BGN 1.8 million shows the overall will of the government to promote and develop these sites.

We are initiating the campaign with a special focus on these archeological sites, with which we want to attract further attention to cultural and historical tourism, Minister Nikolova said.

According to her, it is planned to make short videos that will provide interesting information about the archeological sites. As a priority, they will be distributed on social media and Internet channels.

She added that the implementation of the initiative will rely on the expertise of Professor Nikolay Ovcharov, a famous Bulgarian archaeologist. I believe that with his assistance we will be able to create a product of the highest quality that will promote the riches of Bulgaria and attract more visitors to the regions of the country, the Minister said.

I call Missionis the Northern Perperikon, Prof. Ovcharov commented. According to him, this will be the flagship of tourism, with which we will be able to attract many visitors to the region in Northern Bulgaria. According to archaeologists, only 1% of the entire ancient city has been unearthed. The authentic floor has been preserved in basilica number 3. It dates back some 1,500 years ago. The throne from which the church services were conducted has been preserved. The place for baptism has also been preserved in its original form. A part of a fortification wall, which reaches a height of 12 metres, was discovered. There are over 1,100 archeological sites in the Targovishte region.

The Minister also reminded that the Ministry of Tourism has already implemented such an initiative together with tour guides and it has proved how successful this approach is to encourage visits to various landmarks. The videos were watched and shared by millions of users on social networks, among Bulgarians and foreigners.

We believe that in this way we will further encourage travel focused on cultural and historical tourism, which will help encourage visits during the 4 seasons and will provide a flow of visitors all year round, she said. This will have a positive effect on establishing Bulgaria as a year-round tourist destination and will stimulate the development of the industry at local and national level, Nikolova added.

During her working visit, the Deputy Prime Minister also visited the ancient and medieval city of Misionis. During the visit she was accompanied by Dr. Darin Dimitrov - Mayor of the city of Targovishte; District Governor Mitko Staykov and archaeologist Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov. Missionis is the ancient face of today's Targovishte.

The research of the area began in 1962 by the famous Bulgarian archaeologist Prof. Dimitar Ovcharov, the father of the even more famous archaeologist Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov. For a long time - more than 30 years - the explorations of the ancient city were stopped, but resumed in 2004. So far, archaeologists have discovered entire neighbourhoods, buildings, a water reservoir with a volume of nearly 1,000 cubic metres. The late antique and medieval fortress Misionis is included in the 100 national tourist sites of the Bulgarian Tourist Union. There are 4 main periods in the development of Missionis. The first is Roman, which began in the first centuries of the new era with the creation of the city after the arrival of the Romans in our lands. Then there is the early Byzantine period, in the 5-6 century, when Misionis was an important economic and commercial centre for the region. In the 9th-10th century, during the First Bulgarian State, on the territory of Misionis there was an old Bulgarian settlement, closely connected with the culture and economy of the then capital Veliki Preslav. And during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom the city was an important economic and trade centre.

Archaeologists discover unique finds during excavations at the ancient city of Missionis

Bulgarian archaeologists show artefacts found in medieval city of Missionis

A fragment of a hunting scene found by archaeologists in Missionis