FRESCO HUNTING IN WESTERN BULGARIA

An expedition to the Mediaeval Churches of Western Bulgaria. Images: Balkan Heritage
By Ivan Vasilev
The pastoral landscapes and small villages of the highlands of Western Bulgaria are just an hour’s drive away from the capital Sofia. However, the differences between the bustling modern city and the peaceful countryside are so pronounced that you might be forgiven for thinking you have travelled back in time. The cracks on the asphalt roads are filled with grass, lavish vegetation inhabits the now empty yards and the few locals you might happen to come across will invite you into their house in the old fashioned way for a drink or a snack.

16th century St. Nicholas church, Malomalovo, the only survivor of a late mediaeval monastery complex
This region, located in the heart of the Balkans, covers the Nishava and Upper Struma basins and borders Serbia and Macedonia, two of the six republics that formed Yugoslavia before its dramatic split in the 1990s. It is one of the remotest areas of Bulgaria despite its proximity to the capital, largely due to the consequences of the two world wars and 50 years spent in isolation from the rest of the country during the communist era. Besides the Berlin Wall there were many more frontiers in Eastern Europe that prevented contact between the capitalist and the socialist worlds before 1989.
The only advantage of this isolation was that it saved the cultural and natural heritage from looters and poachers
One of them, the Cordon Sanitaire, formed to stop the exit of millions from the socialist paradise, was a border zone strip which cut through the European socialist countries. It stretched as far north as the Arctic across the heart of Europe and ended at the Black sea along the borders with the so-called enemies. Western Bulgaria was part of that border zone with Yugoslavia (considered officially by all socialist countries as not properly socialist) and access to that 20 km broad strip along the frontier for the rest of Bulgaria was strictly limited. This 50-year long stagnation had a dramatic effect on the economic and demographic profile of the region making it among the poorest and least inhabited regions. The only advantage of this isolation was that it saved the cultural and natural heritage from looters and poachers more than in any other part of Bulgaria.



The altar space in the church at the 11th century Archangel Michael monastery in Tran
In the Middle Ages this region was set deep in the territory of the Bulgarian (810 -1014 and 1180’s – 1330’s) and Byzantine empires (before 810 and 1014-1180’s) but in the 14th century it became the border area between Bulgaria and the Serbian kingdom. At the end of the 14th century Ottoman Turks conquered the area and it remained under the Sultan’s government until 1878. It had long been a melting pot of cultural influences where masters from all the major Balkan Orthodox painting schools were invited to paint the interiors of the churches and chapels with significant scenes from the bible. They were employed by local notables before the Ottoman conquest and then by the local Bulgarian Christian communities during the time of Ottoman rule. This area is one of only a few in south eastern Europe where the traditions of all major Balkan mediaeval schools of art, including Constantinople, Veliko Tarnovo, Ohrid, Serbia and Thessalonica, converged.




13-14th century church of the Blessed Virgin, high on a cliff near Razboishte
What can still be seen today are the remnants of this flourishing mediaeval Orthodox art. The small chapels and churches, mostly poorly built with little attention to architectural detail, are the survivors of the Ottoman invasion in the 14-15th centuries. Although many of these monuments have long been left to decay, behind their dilapidated and somewhat unappealing exteriors lie exquisite frescoes which have suffered much damage over the centuries, some of it deliberate and some due to neglect and exposure to the elements. Nevertheless, they still represent a body of work that has never been properly studied in any great detail and can tell us much about how the various mediaeval artistic styles of the region originated and spread.



Documenting frescoes in St. Petka church, Balsha
In 2005, Balkan Heritage decided to initiate a field school programme designed to document these monuments as a first step towards their protection. The expedition focused on collecting data for the publication of a ‘corpus of mediaeval frescoes from western Bulgaria’ with the intention of bringing the frescoes to the attention of interested scholars around the world as well as to raise public awareness inside Bulgaria and the European Union. However, the professionalism and devotion of the project’s participants, and the excitement of the local people who believe that the expedition is God’s message for the revival of their region, have motivated Balkan Heritage to upgrade the project’s framework. They are now working towards concrete proposals for conservation and restoration of some of the monuments and are applying for funding.
Over the next few years the project will have three major components in order to meet these objectives. These will consist of fieldwork, with training being given in database recording, sketching, measuring and the creation of photographic records of the frescoes and edifices, including significant mediaeval artefacts such as grave stones, icons, iconostases and chandeliers. There will also be educational lectures and workshops in south east European mediaeval history and Orthodox iconography along with classes in fresco restoration. Co-ordinated by the National Academy of Arts in Sofia and led by the Balkan Heritage team, students now come from all over the world to study, photograph and document the churches and monasteries. Previous field schools have already begun to reveal the hidden secrets of the 14th century church of St. Nicholas of Kalotina, the 13-14th century church of St. Peter in Berende and the 16th century St. Petka in Balsha, the 16th century monastery of St. Nicholas in Malo Malovo and the 11th century monastery of Archangel Michael in Tran.





Local people of Balsha generously prepared food for the team
Each day the project has brought new and exciting discoveries as a result of the students’ attention to detail and careful observations. By separating out distinct fresco layers and discovering more about constructional techniques they have been able to begin to assign date periods to both frescoes and buildings. With the support of local stake-holders and international volunteers, the Balkan Heritage team hopes to preserve these unique monuments before they become too badly decayed and beyond help. They form a valuable part of the heritage of the Balkans and the wider history of Europe, and its artistic and religious connections all the way to Constantinople. Indeed, anyone who decides to get involved with this project will be richly rewarded not only by the beauty of the frescoes but by the warmth of the local people who are eager to share these little known treasures with the rest of the world.


The project is open to students and volunteers over 21 years of age. Good sketching/drawing skills and/or basic knowledge of documental photography along with a strong personal motivation are requirements.
Website: http://www.bhfieldschool.org/bh2007.mchbg.html
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