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Cultural and Historical Study of the Architectural and Ethnographic Relics in the Troyan Region
Society for Reseearch of Communities and Settlements
Background
Within the territory of Troyan Municipality there are records of different historical periods archaeological objects, monuments of the Revival Period, architectural memorials of high artistic value and national importance, and many ethnographic monuments. The Troyan region had been an active center of economic, cultural and social life. This cultural and historical heritage has not been studied adequately enough yet, despite the efforts and resources invested by the state. Objects and data have been foundq which are amazing with their opulence and novelties and require systematic description and promotion.
Within the territory of Troyan Municipality there are records of different historical periods archaeological objects, monuments of the Revival Period, architectural memorials of high artistic value and national importance, and many ethnographic monuments. The Troyan region had been an active center of economic, cultural and social life. This cultural and historical heritage has not been studied adequately enough yet, despite the efforts and resources invested by the state. Objects and data have been foundq which are amazing with their opulence and novelties and require systematic description and promotion.
Practice
The Society for the Research of Communities and Settlements built its action plan on the understanding that studying different monuments as an end in itself is hardly making any sense, if the knowledge of this wealth stays in the scholar s files, or closed in the sterile atmosphere of museum exhibitions. A historical and cultural monument has a much greater value when it goes on living and serving people, carrying the marks of the past.
In the course of the work in the Troyan Municipality archaeological objects have been registered and examined, and excavations have been conducted under the guidance of senior research associate Yordan Aleksiev, PhD, Director of the Archaeological and Historical Museum Veliko Tarnovo and Ivan Hristov, PhD. In parallel, ethnographic studies have been carried out in different settlements in the municipality under the guidance of senior research associate Tosho Spiridonov, PhD and with the participation of associate professor Nikolay Kolev, PhD, from Veliko Tarnovo University and associate professor Vassil Markov, PhD, from Southwest University Neofit Rilski Blagoevgrad. Very rich, and unexpected to a certain extent, were the results obtained by the research expedition in the village of Goliama Jeliazna in 1999. There have been found for the first time data about customs and rituals that have parallels in Osetia, the far Kavkaz. The data found in Bulgaria represents the missing continuation of the Kavkaz data. The information collected is being processed and would be published in Bulgaria and abroad, and is expected to provoke interest.
The results of the research work were open for the public. Before the beginning of the expeditions themselves, three press conferences were held for local media, during which information was provided about their purposes and tasks. After the conclusion of each expedition, usually in the autumn, a report was submitted to the citizens of Troyan, which presented the main results and findings made during expedition.
The results were also presented to the scientific community during two conferences, the last of which in November 1998, and the reports and papers were published in two collections of the Association. The organization of a third conference is forthcoming, provisionally in the village of Goliama Jeliazna.
The research work and the presentation of activities were performed in cooperation with the municipal administration. A special contribution to the project success have Petko Petkanov, Head of Department Cultural Activities and Eleonora Spasova from the same department, as well as the important backing of the Mayor of Troyan Municipality Dilian Enkin. The activities received support also from the Mayors of the villages of Shipkovo, Lesidren, Goliama Jeliazna, from the secretary of the community center in Gliama Jeliazna, and from all residents of the villdges and Troyan who helped in the work.
It was found out that the works of the icon painter Zaharii Zograf in the church of the Troyan Monastery needs serious care. That was the reason for including representatives of the Association in the newly established NGO Support for Troyan Monastery , which already has a one-year activity and issued its first bulletin. Its purpose is to look for possibilities for raising funds for the preservation and restoration of the Zaharii Zograf s wall paintings that are in a miserable condition.
The Society for the Research of Communities and Settlements built its action plan on the understanding that studying different monuments as an end in itself is hardly making any sense, if the knowledge of this wealth stays in the scholar s files, or closed in the sterile atmosphere of museum exhibitions. A historical and cultural monument has a much greater value when it goes on living and serving people, carrying the marks of the past.
In the course of the work in the Troyan Municipality archaeological objects have been registered and examined, and excavations have been conducted under the guidance of senior research associate Yordan Aleksiev, PhD, Director of the Archaeological and Historical Museum Veliko Tarnovo and Ivan Hristov, PhD. In parallel, ethnographic studies have been carried out in different settlements in the municipality under the guidance of senior research associate Tosho Spiridonov, PhD and with the participation of associate professor Nikolay Kolev, PhD, from Veliko Tarnovo University and associate professor Vassil Markov, PhD, from Southwest University Neofit Rilski Blagoevgrad. Very rich, and unexpected to a certain extent, were the results obtained by the research expedition in the village of Goliama Jeliazna in 1999. There have been found for the first time data about customs and rituals that have parallels in Osetia, the far Kavkaz. The data found in Bulgaria represents the missing continuation of the Kavkaz data. The information collected is being processed and would be published in Bulgaria and abroad, and is expected to provoke interest.
The results of the research work were open for the public. Before the beginning of the expeditions themselves, three press conferences were held for local media, during which information was provided about their purposes and tasks. After the conclusion of each expedition, usually in the autumn, a report was submitted to the citizens of Troyan, which presented the main results and findings made during expedition.
The results were also presented to the scientific community during two conferences, the last of which in November 1998, and the reports and papers were published in two collections of the Association. The organization of a third conference is forthcoming, provisionally in the village of Goliama Jeliazna.
The research work and the presentation of activities were performed in cooperation with the municipal administration. A special contribution to the project success have Petko Petkanov, Head of Department Cultural Activities and Eleonora Spasova from the same department, as well as the important backing of the Mayor of Troyan Municipality Dilian Enkin. The activities received support also from the Mayors of the villages of Shipkovo, Lesidren, Goliama Jeliazna, from the secretary of the community center in Gliama Jeliazna, and from all residents of the villdges and Troyan who helped in the work.
It was found out that the works of the icon painter Zaharii Zograf in the church of the Troyan Monastery needs serious care. That was the reason for including representatives of the Association in the newly established NGO Support for Troyan Monastery , which already has a one-year activity and issued its first bulletin. Its purpose is to look for possibilities for raising funds for the preservation and restoration of the Zaharii Zograf s wall paintings that are in a miserable condition.
Results
A rich database of the Troyan region was created on the basis of which:
its cultural and historical heritage is being studied;
a project application was prepared for saving Troyan riches and introducing it in the educational, tourist and cultural activity of the municipality, private companies, and people working within its territory;
many new opportunities were created for NGO activities.
A rich database of the Troyan region was created on the basis of which:
its cultural and historical heritage is being studied;
a project application was prepared for saving Troyan riches and introducing it in the educational, tourist and cultural activity of the municipality, private companies, and people working within its territory;
many new opportunities were created for NGO activities.
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