Seven Bulgarian Wonders Impress the World

News.bg, Blaga Bangieva

Seven Bulgarian wonders are part of the list of UNESCO's Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Two more wonders are natural sights.

The cultural pearls that lead the Bulgarian wonders are:

~ The Rila Monastery - part of the convention since 1983, it is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria, situated in the North-Western Rila Mountain (117 km South of Sofia).

~ The Boyana Church - in the list since 1979, it is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church originally constructed in the late 10th or early 11th century, located in the outskirts of Sofia city, in the Boyana quarter.

~ The Madara Rider (or Madara Horserider) - part of UNESCO World heritage list since 1979, it is an early medieval large rock relief situated Eastern of the city of Shumen (Northeastern Bulgaria), near the village of Madara.

~ The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak - it is protected since 1979, it presents a vaulted brickwork "beehive" tomb, part of a large Thracian necropolis, situated near the town of Kazanlak in central Bulgaria.

~ The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo - part of UNESCO list from 1979, group of monolithic churches, chapels and monasteries hewn out of solid rock and completely different from other monastery complexes in Bulgaria, it is located 20 km South of the Danube river side town of Rousse, near the village of Ivanovo.

~ The Ancient Town of Nessebar - protected cultural area since 1983, it is an ancient city on the Black Sea coast, located in Nesebar municipality, Bourgas province.

~ The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari - it is in the list since 1985, the tomb is situated 2,5 km South-West of the village of Sveshtari, Razgrad province, which is 42 km North-East of the city of Razgrad (Northeastern Bulgaria).

~ The Pirin National Park - world heritage since 1983, the park encompasses the larger part of the Pirin Mountains, including two nature reserves (Southwestern Bulgaria).

~ The Srebarna Nature Reserve - considered as world heritage from 1983, it is a natural reserve, situated 18 km West of the riverside of Silistra town and 2 km South of the Danube River (Northeastern Bulgaria), the reserve is located on the Via Pontica - a bird migration route between Europe and Africa.

The Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972.

By regarding heritage as both cultural and natural, the Convention reminds us of the ways in which people interact with nature, and of the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two.

The convention has been ratified by 182 countries. Until the end of 2006 in its list are included 830 objects: 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed, all situated in 138 countries.