The Bulgarian exposition The Epic of the Thracian Kings opens at the Louvre in April. This is the biggest foreign exhibition at the museum for the year with a total of 1,628 exhibits belonging to 17 Bulgarian museums. Journalists from the prestigious French newspapers Le Monde, L’Express, Le Figaro, as well as from art and archaeology magazines - came to Bulgaria and visited the Valley of Thracian Kings, Central Bulgaria and ancient Thracian tombs. Le Monde’s Florence Evin says she is charmed to discover the country:

“This is my first time in Bulgaria and I am only just discovering the country which lies at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, a country where different civilizations meet. A land rich in treasures, some of them unknown in France. The forthcoming exhibition, dedicated to the Thracians will be the first exhibition on such a scale. It should not be forgotten that the Louvre is the biggest museum on the planet and is visited by 9 million people every year.”

The French journalists were able to see the ancient Black Sea towns of Sozopol and Nessebar where archaeological excavations have been going on for many years:

“The remains of these ancient colonies are truly remarkable, they are still being excavated and more and more treasures are surfacing - for example, unique gold jewellery. I used a magnifying glass to look at some of the filigree gold pieces – they are so delicate that it is difficult to discern the details with the naked eye.”

Florence Evin is far from indifferent to a burning problem – overdevelopment:

“There is one thing that made me sad – the rampant and indiscriminate over-construction of the coastline – without a hint of urban concern or care for the natural resources. This is a mistake that has been made in France, in Spain, Greece and Turkey and they have all regretted it. Knowing what treasures there are underground waiting to be unearthed, I find it a great pity.”

Florence adds that she cannot imagine the hotels and concrete spaces along Bulgaria’s Black Sea coastline attracting tourists from France, but that is another story. But how have the curators from the Louvre and from Bulgaria been able to cope with the organization of this major event?

“We were accompanied by two curators Alexandre Baralis and Neguin Mathieu from the department for Greek, Etruscan and Roman culture at the Louvre, and on the Bulgarian side by Milena Tankova from the National Museum of Archaeology and Totko Stoyanov from the St. Kliment Ohridski University, Sofia. They all demonstrated an excellent coordination and the final product will be a delightful surprise for France. Many of the artifacts are being restored in Bulgaria. We find the work of Bulgarian restorers inspiring.”

What will Florence Evin remember most vividly from her encounters with Thracian culture? The tomb of Seuthus III, ruler of the Odrysian kingdom, discovered in 2004 and the ritually buried bronze head of the king.

English version: Milena Daynova