Architectural stories from Bulgarian villages will be presented in the audiovisual exhibition "The Houses and People".
The opening is on April 25 (Saturday) at the "Zhdreloto" Visitor Information Center on the Erma River (village of Lomnitsa, Tran municipality). The exhibition presents traditional village houses and the emotional stories of their guardians or restorers. In 2026, the exhibition will be presented in five different locations throughout Bulgaria, with the first stop being the town of Tran, where the Historical Museum-Tran is hosted, writes BNR.
The exhibition, created by the Ruralheritage.bg platform with curator Vasil Vladimirov, presents traditional village houses and the stories of their inhabitants in a modern audiovisual way. The project includes photographs and audio stories that document both the architectural wealth and the personal destinies associated with it, the team reports.
Among the stories presented are stories about the heirs of a master of "zhurgafi" who preserved his work, about a young couple who returned from abroad, about the writer Rosemary De Meo, and about the filmmaker Boris Misirkov. What they have in common is the choice to live in the village and preserve traditional practices and architectural heritage.
The seven houses included in the exhibition were selected after a year-long study by architects Elena Stoycheva and Georgi Nikolov. They present various examples of restoration and preservation of authentic elements such as stained glass windows, ornaments and murals.
After the opening near Tran, the exhibition will also visit the villages of Oreshak and Novo Selo, as well as in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas. The exhibition can be viewed at the visitor center “Zhdreloto“ on the Erma River until May 17, with free admission from Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Monday and Tuesday - days off).
More dates of the tour in 2026: 02 - 13 June - Burgas, Cultural Center “Morsko Kasino“ 04 - 25 July - Troyan, NIHZI Oreshak. Veliko Tarnovo and Novo Selo, Vidin Region follow.
The project “Houses and People - Architectural Stories from Bulgarian Villages” was implemented with the financial support of the National Fund “Culture“.
Ruralheitage.bg is a platform that documents rural architecture as a living part of Bulgaria's cultural heritage. Its focus is on residential buildings from less researched periods – such as the 1920s and 1930s – and aims to draw attention to the value of these sites in order to encourage their preservation and show that rural architecture is a treasure that deserves respect and care.
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