Bulgarian Rock Monastery Is in Urgent Need of Renovation to Avoid Closure

The Aladzha rock monastery situated along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is in need of an urgent renovation in order to avoid being closed to visitors in 2016.

Nearly BGN 500 000 are needed for complete conservation of the catacombs and the monastery as such preservation works have not been carried out since the 1960s.

The area was the site of three rockfalls last year, with the last one nearly hitting a family visiting the monastery, daily Trud informs.

At present, the state is transferring the ownership of several cultural-historical monuments, including Aladzha monastery, from the culture ministry to the municipality of Varna.

In this way, the archaeological museum in Varna, which is in charge of looking after the monastery, will be eligible to apply for funding under international programmes.

The culture ministry has devised a project of the monastery amounting to EUR 1.5 M, which foresees the allocation of EUR 250 000 to consolidation and conservation.

At present an international audit of the projects is conducted and the tranche under the Norway Grants is closed.

However there will be opportunity to apply for funding under other international programmes once the transfer of the ownership is completed and the monastery becomes property of Varna municipality.

Aladzha monastery is visited by nearly 60 000 tourists annually - children and adults, Bulgarians and foreigners.

One of the main attractions is the audio-visual spectacle "The legends of Aladzha monastery" which recreates stories of the medieval complex.