The Municipality of Karlovo should develop and invest in the resort town of Banya as a priority – this is what local residents who are worried about the fate of the settlement and who shared with Iskra.bg about numerous problems that call its future into question, insist. They also urged the local administration to comply with the legislation and not violate it.
Banya or also known as the „Royal City“ was declared a medical balneological resort of national importance in 1963. It has a very rich history. According to her, in 1927 Tsar Boris III stayed in the city for treatment, and subsequently in 1929 he built a palace called „Our House“. “Tsarska Banya” (Royal Bath) was built especially for him, which was for balneotherapy. The „Royal Railway Building“ was also built. In this entire ensemble of buildings, some large sections have been paved. The settlement received the status of a city by Decision 582 of the Council of Ministers of August 30, 2002.
A document of the National Institute for Immovable Cultural Heritage (NIICH) shows that as of December 2022, 8 immovable cultural properties in the town of Banya are included in the register, 4 of which are in a state of disrepair. It is indicated that no measures have been taken to strengthen and protect them and to ensure the safety of the public. During the walkthroughs, the experts have identified 4 other sites that have high potential as carriers of the historical memory of the town, namely – Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital /3 buildings/, Kaleto Forest Park, paved street network and the Royal Railway Station and Forecourt Square. On 22 February, the NIICH notified the Municipality of Karlovo that it has started the procedure for issuing an individual administrative act for these 4 sites. You can read the full text of the NIICH below:
Although the paved street network falls among these 4 sites with high potential as bearers of historical memory, the decision was made to remove the cobblestones and replace them with asphalt. According to Lidiya Chorbanova, the saga with the cobblestones, in favor of which the National Scientific Expedition Club UNESCO also ruled, is paradoxical. She commented to Iskra.bg that one of the major problems in the city is the condition of the entire water supply network, and often the water from the fountains flows with a cloudy color and saturated with impurities. According to her, the water supply network is old, often breaks and defects.
„The process of taking out the cobblestones and putting down another surface is kind of unjustified if nothing else is done like replacing the water mains.“ Apart from the fact that it is done poorly. In the past, this settlement was developed primarily as a resort, but since we are a town hall within the Karlovo Municipality, it has not been developed as such and has been left to its own devices. This is the bigger and main problem. The last beautiful touch was these cobblestones, which we wanted to preserve because they were still something different, beautiful and with a history,“, she pointed out.
The case has also divided local residents – those who want cobblestones and those who are against them.
There is also a methane station in the city, which gassed the town with an unpleasant smell after 7:00 p.m., she also claimed. According to her, this was to the detriment of the resort and at the moment it was abandoned, with hardly any business and not a single working restaurant.
The sports complex in Banya is also among the burning cases for the locals. On this occasion, Chorbanova shared:
„In some strange way it turned out to be owned by Hristo Kovachki. The sports complex was resold to some company from Pernik and now it is closed. These are sports facilities built with funding from the two big factories – the Tractor Combine and VMZ (Military Machine Engineering Plant) -Sopot, as well as with the personal labour of the people of Banya. And suddenly the owner became the Municipal Council of Karlovo and so secretly and quietly it ended up in the hands of Kovachki. For about 10 years there were supposedly some disputes, but rather in order to lose the statute of limitations for the settlement of such transactions. Nowadays, this Sports Complex stands closed and crumbling. And it has been resold several times most likely to lose track and the ability to dispute ownership. Allegedly, Kovatchki has also not paid the sports contribution that he should have paid to the Municipality. In all, the citizens are deprived of this facility, which includes a 25-metre swimming pool sports semi, with a wrestling and dry training hall. On top of that there was a school and classrooms. Separately, in front of the pool itself, there were hotel rooms to accommodate athletes. In the other gym, which was among the most modern for those years, there was room for two basketball/volleyball courts. There was a rehabilitation center, jacuzzis for individual therapy for athletes, and a restaurant. And was irretrievably lost. All of that could help the town develop, but now the place is drowning in ruin.“
There are buildings in the town that are in a unique architectural style. However, some of them were rehabilitated and this was not taken into account, notes Chorbanova. According to her, the park built by Tsar Boris III is neglected and slowly being destroyed.
Also, the Municipality of Karlovo sets a price for the use of mineral water, Chorbanova stated. Then she explained:
„Everyone who wants to use the mineral water pays the Municipality. And what does the Municipality reinvest from this? It is about the hotels and sanatoriums. The last option, if there is no change, was that the Municipal Council determines the price of cubic meters of mineral water. That is, the price for the hotel, for the sanatorium is determined and a fee is paid accordingly. The question is that if water is drawn from Banya and a fee is paid, what part of this amount is returned to improve the resort. The municipality only draws resources without investing, and when you ask the mayor why he didn’t fix our water supply network, he replies – I don’t have a budget.“
Banya is managed by a mayor and does not have its own resources for development, so it relies on the Municipality of Karlovo. However, Chorbanova is adamant that the local administration does not pay attention to the resort at all, but should develop it as a priority, because it hides a huge economic resource that can be useful for the entire municipality.
„If the Municipality of Karlovo takes care of more money being invested in Banya, we will not talk about the water supply network and cobblestones. Banya is capable of taking care of its own future, that is, the Municipality should prioritize developing the resort, allocate more resources to it.“
Realizing the dire state of their settlement, they self-irony that in their past as a village they were the most beautiful and picturesque in Bulgaria, and now they are a city without development and perspective. This is also the message they want to send to the Municipality of Karlovo, joining the protest on April 22 in Kalofer.
