Bulgarian authorities deny plan to build over Roman-era amphitheatre site in capital Sofia

Bulgaria’s Culture Minister Mariyan Bachev and Deputy Culture Minister Todor Chobanov have denied that building over the Roman-era Amphitheatre of Serdica archaeological site will be allowed.

As of August 8, an online petition demanding that Sofia municipality and government institutions take action to preserve the Roman-era Amphitheatre of Serdica in the centre of Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia has drawn more than 10 200 signatures since its launch.

In a post on Facebook, Bachev said that since the beginning of his term in office, “my team at the Ministry of Culture has been actively working to save, develop and transform the Roman amphitheatre in Sofia into a living part of the cultural life of the capital”.

For over 20 years, no real action has been taken for the future of this unique site, Bachev said.

“That is why we have been holding talks for more than a month and a half with the Ministry of Energy, personally with Minister Zhecho Stankov and with the management of Bulgarian Energy Holding, in order to transfer ownership of the terrain to the Ministry of Culture,” he said.

The territory that was previously planned for the administrative building of the National Electricity Company “is an integral part of the Serdika-Sredets archaeological reserve and carries exceptional historical and cultural value”.

“Our plans also include using an adjacent property – through expropriation or exchange – to create a stage space inspired by European examples: a summer stage built on Roman rows, where antiquity and contemporary art will meet in a living cultural experience,” Bachev said.

“History is not a place to be forgotten or built on. The Roman amphitheatre is part of the cultural core of Sofia. My team and I will not allow it to be anything less,” he said.

Chobanov, who formerly was deputy mayor of Sofia and has a doctorate in archaeology, said that in 2015, he and then-mayor Yordanka Fandukova had prepared a plan for the archaeological site, but after years of court action, it had been overruled by the court.

“Even then, efforts were made to obtain the terrain from the National Electricity Company for the needs of the reserve, but due to the company’s financial situation, there was no legal way for the property to be written off from its assets,” Chobanov said.

He said that about a month ago, Bachev had asked the Minister of Energy to obtain the terrain from them, “about which we have agreement in principle and have initiated the relevant procedure”.

“It should be noted that contrary to some malicious speculations in the public space, the National Elecricity Company/Bulgarian Energy Holding terrain is on the amphitheatre and is in co-ownership with the main act for exclusive state ownership of the entire Serdika – Sredets reserve,” Chobanov said.

“And there will be no construction on it, but work will be done to expose the ancient value in the spirit of the best modern practices,” he said.

(Photo: Epaunov72, via Wikimedia Commons)