We will now tell you about an idea, an attempt to collect the entire beauty of Bulgaria on one spot. This is the initiative of a Bulgarian director to reveal for us the most beautiful Bulgarian buildings – monuments of culture and also the country’s marvelous nature, all this gathered in a park. The project will be named Bulgaria in Miniature and the idea’s owner Sunny Suninski gives us details on the identity and number of the model buildings:

“We have picked up over 100 sites for Bulgaria. The first stage emphasizes the most remarkable buildings of Bulgarian history from different cities and towns. Over the 12 years of the project’s development we have made a recreation which is presented along the exposition. It will also find its place in the park. As the project is under the auspices of UNESCO all of its protected sites will be recreated – the Rila Monastery, the Madara Horseman, Plovdiv’s Antique Theatre etc. We also have the ambition to represent a part of the country’s non-material cultural heritage.”

The project will be executed in several stages as the start will be given with the recreation of 30 national sites and then in two additional stages some 30 – 40 other buildings will be included, as each of them will have its own sound system and artistic light. Thus Bulgaria will be represented with models of its most remarkable historic sites. What is the technology for the creation of the models?

“Six years ago we had to create a model of the Rila Monastery for Mini Europe in Brussels. We met with a whole bunch of different people within six months across various ateliers and studios. We also spent time in the park itself where we bought the technology from. We have been making outdoor models actively ever since. The process is pretty complicated. We begin with 3D visualization. Then cast bars are made for the elements necessary. This means strong HD. We use polyester resins which can endure temperature ranges of 40C to -40C. This all happens with special equipment and expensive materials which unfortunately cannot be found on the Bulgarian market.”

The technology described allows the buildings selected to be copied to their finest detail and recreated in a large scale. Global trends in the area impose the recreation of the objects in a ratio varying from 1:50 to 1:15. These sizes don’t allow the usage of 3D printers, as the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral for instance will be 4 m long and 5 m high in a scale of 1:25.

Now when we know everything about the project’s size we ask when and where it will be implemented.

“The so-called lands of the Apostle are the terrain chosen. It is situated next to the Malak Iskar River and the Vidrare and Kalugerovo villages, Pravetz Municipality. We opted for this place due to its Renaissance links – the first church school was in Vidrare and the entire region was rebellious during the Ottoman rule. Besides that Tsar Boris III built up a picturesque road along the river which shall take future visitors to the park. It is beautiful there and one can stay alone with the project. Thus the urbanized environment won’t bother our senses.”

Some EUR 3.5 mln. will be needed for the overall execution of the project, Sunny Suninski says. The official representation is forthcoming and the future opening is envisaged to take place no earlier than 2019.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev