The еthnographic еxhibition “Sunken Heritage” raises serious environmental questions

In the early 1960s, it was concluded that Bulgaria’s water resources were insufficient to meet the needs of agriculture. As a result, large-scale construction of artificial water reservoirs began across the country.

Between 1950 and 1985, 216 large and over 2,000 small reservoirs were built in Bulgaria. When constructing such large-scale infrastructure, the state had to decide what would happen to the residents of villages located in the designated reservoir areas. Dozens of villages were erased because they were situated within the catchment areas of the newly built reservoirs.

Submerged Heritage – Bulgarian villages that are now on the bottom of dams

The people from these villages were forced to search for new homes throughout the country, and the state assisted them with discounted building materials or favorable bank loans. Today, the large reservoir construction boom seems like a nostalgic memory from socialist-era Bulgaria - especially since no new reservoir project has been approved in the country in the past 35 years.

While the maintenance of old dam walls now causes major headaches for hydro engineers, the work of ethnographers studying the history of the residents and remnants of submerged villages is far more appealing. A team from the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) has conducted field studies in areas where villages were once submerged.

The collected materials are made available to the public through a poster exhibition titled “Sunken Heritage.” “When we talk about remnants of these villages under the reservoirs, it’s usually linked with the romantic image of the so-called submerged church in Zhrebchevo Dam along the Tundzha River. It has become a popular spot for photo shoots and excursions. But this focus shifts attention away from the people’s struggles, their emotions, and their memories of life in these settlements,” say the BAS researchers.

On the trail of lost time: the submerged church of Zhrebchevo dam

The exhibition has already been shown in Gabrovo and Montana - towns with surrounding areas affected by reservoir construction. Its next stop is the town of Troyan, which, although it has no submerged villages, still has residents in nearby villages like Cherni Osam and Oreshak who remain prepared to protest. Their discontent is directed at decisions by some authorities to construct a new reservoir in a region that relies mainly on income from mountain and eco-tourism. What draws researchers’ interest to the Troyan area in relation to the Sunken Heritage project?

We learn more from Assoc. Prof. Petar Petrov of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies at BAS.

“Unlike other places we’ve visited, the Troyan region is a special case. There are no evacuated villages there, and no reservoir has yet been built. Construction of the Cherni Osam Reservoir began in 1986, intended to supply water to the towns of Pleven and Lovech.

However, the project was halted in 1990 - 'frozen,' as it was called - after protests from the residents of the village of Cherni Osam and citizens of Troyan. They voiced their daily hardships caused by the construction - vibrations, noise, and pollution of the area - but their deeper concern was environmental. They acted together with the then-active and popular ecological movement ‘Ekoglasnost.’ Through live chains and mass protests, they succeeded in stopping the reservoir construction 35 years ago. Yet the water shortage problem in Pleven and Lovech persists to this day. These towns remain under water rationing, which is why calls to resume construction often resurface.”

This is where researchers like Assoc. Prof. Petrov begin asking questions about the compromises and trade-offs that might be necessary to ensure better water supply for a large city like Pleven. But just as logically arises the question: Should the lives of smaller communities be sacrificed so that big-city residents can live more comfortably? Alongside the intention to resume the reservoir project, other important environmental questions have crystallized.

“The residents in the area where the Cherni Osam Reservoir is planned remain opposed to its construction. They raise environmental concerns - namely, that building the reservoir would involve deforestation in the central part of the Balkan Mountains, where the reservoir is located, and that it is very close to protected areas such as the Steneto Reserve in the Central Balkan National Park.

Additionally, Pleven already receives water from the mountains, but it flows through an old pipeline built over 50 years ago. So another major question arises - the loss of water through the existing network and the outdated pipes, which could simply be replaced. Therefore, better solutions than building a new reservoir have been proposed such as repairing the existing pipeline to make more efficient use of the current water supply. At present, the two sides - citizens and the administration - appear irreconcilable. This is why we want to present the “Sunken Heritage” exhibition in Troyan", says Assoc. Prof. Petar Petrov.

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Photos: BTA, Troyan Municipality, plevenpress.com

Edited by Desislava Semkovska

English version and publication: Rositsa Petkova

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The еthnographic еxhibition “Sunken Heritage” raises serious environmental questions

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