Open the Window to "Bulgaria in Miniature"!

Novinite Insider » DESTINATIONS | November 17, 2006, Friday // 00:00
Bulgaria: Open the Window to "Bulgaria in Miniature"! Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)

The thousand-century history and rich cultural traditions of Bulgaria have offered vast creative ground to the promoters and developers of a unique project. The mobile exhibition "Bulgaria in Miniatures" presents three-dimensional reproductions of Bulgaria's best-known cultural and historic sites and architectural monuments.

By Ivelina Puhaleva

The project aims to visualize this heritage of Bulgaria in a way that is attractive for foreign tourists and seeks to incite their interest to come and see them personally, says the author of the project Suni Suninski.

"Bulgaria in Miniatures" plays also an educational role teaching Bulgarian children to love their homeland, he specifies.

The miniature objects sized from 60 cm to 1.20 m shine against the background of artificial lights and emit sounds from concealed speakers. Mini human figures enliven the models creating the sense of dynamics and life. The artistic reproductions are brought to life through sound and light sending the observer back through ages and history, authors Suni Suninski and Stefanie Ratcheva explain.

As of the moment, the show comprises 15 exhibits of buildings and monuments.

The entertaining travel through centuries and history events runs from the magnificent Kaliakra Cape, the mysterious Rila Monastery, the history-loaded Shipka Peak, the old kingdom's capital Tarnovo, the revolutionary Koprivshtitsa, the mediaeval romantic Assenova Fortress and reaches nowadays Sofia. The capital city leaves its beauty unveiled in the National Theatre "Ivan Vazov", the cathedral Alexander Nevski and the Royal Palace. You can also take glimpses and sounds from the Thracian Tomb in Kazanluk, the Madara Horseman, the revolutionary Radetzky Steamboat, the Cathedral Church in Varna, the Baba Vida Castle in Vidin and the Antique Roman Amphitheatre in Plovdiv - all of which fill in the tourism mosaic of Bulgaria.

The making of one of those models has involved three months of labour by as much as 60 people - scene designers, sculptors, art designers and artists, Suni Suninski explains.

The ambition of team to popularise the Bulgarian history and culture on the threshold of becoming a EU member has reached as far as to Brussels. More than 15,000 people visited the Bulgaria in Miniatures at the central building of the European Comission to see the scaled-models showcase. It was Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn who personally closed the exhibition expressing his amazement and great pleasure with Bulgaria's rich history and culture.

"Bulgaria in Miniatures" is an emotional try to link the events of our history through architectural models and monuments and thus create a 3D "show-case" of our country where you can not only see, but also sense the past," says Suninski, who is also a prominent Bulgarian director.

The Brussels exhibition was organised under the governmental project "Promotion Bulgaria" as part of the National Strategy for Accession of Bulgaria to the European Union.
"Bulgaria does have many things to show to the world," boasts Tsonko Tsonev, mayor of the Kavarna Municipality, cavalier of the honour Man of Year 2005, who is among the most zealous flagmen of the project. Famous with his outspoken love for Bulgaria, Mayor Tsonev has readily supported "Bulgaria in Miniatures" and included a model of Kaliakra Cape in it.

In fact, the exhibition is simply the first step of an endless initiative under which the authors of the project seek to bring Bulgaria "on palm hand."

To be Bulgarian is a cause worth to be defended every day, the authors claim. Their enthusiasm has passed on the rest of contributors to this unique initiative, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bulgarian Tourism Authority, the Kavarna Municipality, numerous non-governmental organisations and private companies.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Destinations » Be a reporter: Write and send your article

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria