Minister Shishkov inspected the restoration of the ancient city of Heraclea Syntytica near Petrich

With 5.6 million BGN, OPRG transform the ancient center into a unique tourist attraction

The Minister of Regional Development and Public Works architect Ivan Shishkov visited the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica near Petrich. The archaeological site is currently undergoing a restoration and conservation project funded with just over BGN 5.6 million from the Regions in Growth Operational Programme 2014-2020 managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. Together with him the site was visited by the Deputy Ministers of Regional Development and Public Works Nikolay Shushkov and of Finance Alexander Svrakov, the Director of the Customs Agency Pavel Gerensky, the Mayor of Petrich Dimitar Bruchkov, the Chairperson of the Municipal Council - Petrich Svetla Danailova, Director of the Historical Museum of the town Metodi Biserkov, the archaeologist of the Historical Museum in Sandanski Svetla Petrova, and Assen Gyoshev - Commercial Director of PI ES PI EAD, which is carrying out the restoration of the ancient town.

Restoration work on the site is expected to be completed at the end of this year. The beneficiary is the Municipality of Petrich, which will manage it once it is completed.

During the inspection, Minister Shishkov discussed with the Mayor of Petrich Dimitar Bruchkov and the Director of the Historical Museum of the town Metodi Biserkov pressing problems in the implementation of the project related to various procedures, as well as the need for additional land expropriation for the development of the entire archaeological complex and cultural tourism in the region.

The main objective of the activities is to establish Heraclea Sintica with its adjacent necropolises as a competitive tourist attraction along the middle Struma River. The project foresees two areas, one for cultural heritage and the other for socialisation. The first zone will present an ancient fortress wall, a residential quarter, an early Christian necropolis, the central urban area of the ancient city of Heraclea Syntytica - the forum and adjacent sites, buildings below the Roman forum, shops and shrines, a civic basilica, an early Christian basilica, etc. A service centre will be built with a ticket office, a room for guides, toilets and storage, free parking, infrastructure to provide access for the disabled and a connecting walkway between the different archaeological sites. In the second area, a visitor centre will be built with a virtual hall for the exhibition of cultural heritage. There will be a children’s water park type attraction, a wide public access area, children’s playgrounds, secure parking.

A food and beverage area, a Roman Thermae attraction with swimming pools, an accommodation area, a children’s camp and a camping area are planned to be located next to the site. Festivals will be organised to increase attendance.

According to the municipality’s data, more than 70 000 tourists visit the ancient centre annually. After the implementation of the OP “Regions for Growth” 2014-2020 project, Heraclea Sintica is expected to be visited by more than 150,000 tourists per year.