AKP Phnom Penh, 16 November, 2025 --

The State Cultural Institute The Palace in Balchik has welcomed around 200,000 visitors from Bulgaria and abroad in 2025, Director Galina Mitkova said on Saturday. Over the year, the complex hosted more than 70 exhibitions, concerts, festivals and educational initiatives, blending established traditions with new cultural formats.

Mitkova highlighted three key projects for 2026. The first is the donation of a bronze sculpture to The Palace by Balcica Mosescu, daughter of the last Romanian mayor of the town, Octavian Mosescu, and Bulgarian Penka Dobreva. The sculpture is already installed, with an official unveiling planned next year.

The Palace was built between 1924 and 1934 when Dobrudzha was still part of Romania. In 1940, under the Treaty of Craiova, Romania ceded Southern Dobrudzha back to Bulgaria.

The second project, Threads of Time, funded by the National Culture Fund, will restore the sewing room, featuring a more than 100-year-old sewing machine.

The third initiative involves creating an exhibition of a 1930s-1940s wedding night room in the building near the waterfall, showcasing donated furniture, clothing and personal items, each accompanied by a video and personal story.

On Saturday, The Palace launched its Traditions Bulgaria cultural programme, part of an initiative themed Balchik: A Stage of World Cultures. Members of the local Hinap Association of People with Disabilities performed a Christmas Eve ritual. A woodcarving exhibition by Ivan Yotov and his son is also on display. The two-day event will feature folk music performances and a traditional Bulgarian dinner, followed by guided walks, a folk costume presentation and culinary demonstrations accompanied by Christmas customs.

Also in 2026, a single admission ticket for the State Cultural Institute The Palace and the University Botanic Garden in Balchik, is expected to be introduced, the two institutions told a joint press conference.

Galina Mitkova said the institutions are working together to make visits to the complex easier and more enjoyable, with the Culture Ministry and Sofia University supporting efforts to end the current system of separate ticket offices.

Botanic Garden Head Veselina Ilieva said a working group set up by order of the Minister of Culture is preparing a new management model. One of the next steps is to prepare a technical specification for a public procurement tender to introduce a unified access system. Until then, the two sites will continue selling combined tickets.

Plans include ticket machines placed at entrances and an online sales platform. A slight price increase is expected, while tickets for adults, children, families and seasonal passes will be retained.

AKP-BTA