Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Five years ago the ancient pagan ritual Surova entered UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list

Photo: BGNES, archive

On this day in 2015, the Surova folk feast from the region of Pernik was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the UNESCO website writes.

Surova is a ritual banishing evil forces to cleanse humans for a new life. The core of the celebration is a popular masquerade ritual performed in villages throughout the region. It takes place in January when colourful survakari masquerade groups pass through the streets to the sound of bells and bagpipes to celebrate creative human energy and the faith that the new year will be more bountiful and healthy.  



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Balkan developments

Athens is under pressure to sell fighter jets that would be delivered to Ukraine Greece is reluctant to provide high-tech military equipment that could be used against Russia, reports BNR’s correspondent in Greece Katya Peeva...

published on 10/3/25 12:45 PM

The Rhodope village of Momchilovtsi is showcasing Bulgarian yoghurt in Shanghai

A clay pot and a wooden bucket from the village of Momchilovtsi are part of an exhibition at the Milk Museum, which has just opened in Shanghai , the village's mayor, Siika Surkova, told the Bulgarian news agency BTA.  Representatives of the..

published on 10/2/25 5:01 PM
Vladimir Kefalov, PhD

Bulgarian biophysicist Vladimir Kefalov honoured by Boston University

Bulgarian scientist Dr. Vladimir Kefalov has been awarded a prestigious alumni prize by Boston University’s Graduate Medical Sciences Faculty, the Bulgarian Consulate in Los Angeles announced on Facebook, cited by BTA. “This recognition by Boston..

published on 10/1/25 3:55 PM