UNESCO Statute of Bulgaria's Nesebar Hangs on Thread

Aerial view of the Nesebar peninsula, the only UNESCO World Heritage City in Bulgaria. Photo by explore-bulgaria.net

Bulgaria's historical Black Sea town of Nesebar will remain a UNESCO World Heritage City for the time being, the Mayor, Nikolay Dimitrov, announced Wednesday.

The item to discuss the eventual change of the statute of Nesebar has been removed from the agenda of the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in Brazil. It is still, however, unclear if the issue would come up again or if this is the final decision on it.

The picturesque beach town was slated for discussions over numerous requests to take if from the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The Bulgarian Culture Ministry says they do not know where the requests came from, but the Mayor hinted in an interview for Darik radio that they have been a provocation against Bulgaria over the election of Bulgaria's Irina Bokova as UNESCO Director-General last October after a heated competition with other countries' nominees.

The complaints, however, revolve around two well known facts – illegal large-scale construction and the large number of market stands that tarnish the image of the historical Old Town.

The Town Hall declared they are making constant efforts to improve the situation and are undertaking serious measures such as restricting the street market stands, introducing police bike patrols, building parking lots with affordable prices, and developing restoration projects.

Upset visitors further say historical churches in the town are used by homeless people or as places for illegal trade.

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