The seventh annual competition for best Bulgarian city to live in for the first time crowned two winners. The highest distinction “Best City to Live in” for 2013 went to Bourgas and Veliko Turnovo.

In the online vote, the two cities got the same number of points – the maximum of 40 according to 20 criteria. These included indices like local and foreign investments, infrastructure projects in 2013, projects planned for 2014, kindergartens, schools, a sound environment, culture etc., but also tolerance, number of sunny days, convenience stores, Wi-Fi access, good main streets, access to air travel, high-quality healthcare, proximity to mountains and the sea and even birth rate – the so-called baby boom towns. The mayors of Bourgas and Veliko Turnovo Dimitar Nikolov and Daniel Panov received the awards from Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski himself.

How did these two cities win over the hearts of Bulgarians?

“Perhaps the reason is that from an industrialized city, in recent years Bourgas has become a city with a coziness and a character of its own, a leisure-time city, but also a place for sports and tourism. Not forgetting youth activities and the development of cultural projects,” says Bourgas Mayor Dimitar Nikolov. “Another crucial factor is the emphasis we put on projects with European funding. There is no item on the agenda without a European project in place. This is our prime task, alongside a better infrastructure and making the city safer. And of course, the sea and the famous Bulgarian hospitality,” says the Mayor of Bourgas and adds that this is what attracts so many tourists from abroad.

“Veliko Turnovo was the capital of Bulgaria for 208 years. It is the town that constituted the National Assembly. It was here that the independence of Bulgaria was proclaimed,” says Veliko Turnovo Mayor Daniel Panov. “But we, in Veliko Turnovo have been working as much to preserve our historical heritage and to promote diverse cultural programmes, as we have to make the lives of the people living in the city better. This is especially true of what we have done throughout 2013. We now have more than 3 kms., of asphalt streets, 16 new playgrounds, 6 schools and 3 kindergartens, renovated using energy efficiency European funding. The first in Bulgaria multimedia visitors centre Tsarevets -Turnov opened doors last year, illustrating the history of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185-1396). Thanks to this centre we registered a considerable rise in the number of tourists; in 2013 tourism in the country marked a 43 percent increase compared to 2012.”

Sofia claimed the prize in the Business and Culture subsections of the traditional best city to live in competition. Varna, dubbed Bulgaria’s sea capital got the prize “City with Best Outlook”, Nessebar was pronounced the “Fastest Developing City” or “baby boom town” while Aksakovo – the “Best Small Town”. For the first time this year, a category for “Best Bulgarian Town to Live in Outside the Country” was instituted and the award went to Dimitrovgrad (Tsaribrod) in Serbia because it has preserved its Bulgarian spirit and its ties with Bulgaria.

English version: Milena Daynova