The southernmost town on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast – Ahtopol, is located at the foot of Strandzha, on a rocky peninsula. The town has a thousand years of rich history.
The first thing that can be seen in front of the harbour entrance is the white lighthouse – one of the most beautiful on our Black Sea coast. But by now, since its renovation a few days ago, the lighthouse has lost its majesty. This was brought to our attention by outraged citizens who sent us photos of how their town’s emblem has been vandalised.
The people demanded that the authenticity of the lighthouse in the seaside town be restored. They said that not only the locals were appalled by the sight, but also long-time tourists and visitors to the town. They asked Iskra.bg:
“Did they decide to skimp on the symbol of the town? Why didn’t they make the same solid metal structure with an elongated shape that completed the lighthouse, but put four thin irons to hold the illuminated body? This is a big misunderstanding that has been caused to the city.”
Citizens also asked, “What is the purpose of this repair and who is responsible for it?” But those questions have yet to be answered.
We contacted the Tsarevo Municipality, where they replied that they were not aware of the case. We also contacted the mayor of the town, Stanislav Dimitrov. He told Iskra.bg:
“I have officially asked and I am waiting for information from the State Enterprise „Port Infrastructure“ Burgas to see what parameters, who built this structure and on whose orders the repair of the lighthouse was made. At the time of the renovation, the town hall was not informed and we did not know that they were going to carry out repairs on the emblematic lighthouse of Ahtopol, which for me is a big mistake. It’s a matter of them putting right their misunderstanding.”
The Organization for the Protection of Bulgarian Citizens has also made a request under the Access to Public Information Act related to the repair of the lighthouse in the seaside town, which has been addressed to the Director General of the State Enterprise „Port Infrastructure“.
The lighthouse became operational in July 1932. It is erected in front of the entrance to the port of Ahtopol. It is built on a reef, which makes it particularly picturesque, but also particularly dangerous to maintain because of the difficult access. On the cliff is built a square base with a height of 3.5 m, on it is erected a round stone tower, 4.8 m high and a two-meter reinforced concrete structure with a smaller diameter, on which is placed an iron prism with a height of 3 meters.
People are adamant that this is another “ill-conceived, crooked and talentless renovation” in Ahtopol. They have also prepared a petition to restore the authentic appearance of the lighthouse. The citizens want its former appearance, height and proportions to be restored.
Iskra.bg will continue to monitor the case until its resolution, we expect the competent institutions to take the necessary measures to restore the species.
