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

UNESCO recognizes traditional singing from Bulgaria's Dolen and Satovcha as world cultural heritage

Photo: mfa.bg

The so-called "visoko" multipart folk singing from the villages of Dolen and Satovcha, Blagoevgrad region, South-western Bulgaria, has been listed by UNESCO as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage. The decision was made at the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The application was presented by the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The so-called "visoko" (high) singing from the region is a unique four-part singing which received international recognition for the first time in 1988, when the singers from the villages of Dolen and Satovcha were awarded the Herder Prize.

For the 6th time, UNESCO puts Bulgaria on this list, which already includes the Bistritsa grandmothers, firedancing (nestinari), Chiprovtsi carpet weaving, the Surva holiday from Pernik region and the martenitsas which it presented together with Romania, Moldova and North Macedonia.

The film about the presentation to UNESCO is in Bulgarian with English subtitles:




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

Photo: Probuda-1928 chitalishte, Kralevo village

Photo competition breathes life into characters of Pizho and Penda

Every year, the chitalishte (community culture club) in the village of Kralevo not far from Targovishte, re-enacts Bulgarian traditions and rituals, organizing contests such as “Master lyutenitsa - maker” and “From granny’s dresser”. And for the..

updated on 3/14/25 11:45 AM

Red and white – the Bulgarian spring health amulet is shrouded in legends and beliefs

According to popular belief, the color red has the power of the sun and gives vitality to every living being, while white symbolizes purity, innocence and joy . The appearance of the twisted white and red threads, known as martenitsa, means that winter..

published on 3/1/25 5:05 AM

Four generations of talent or how the folk arts school in Kotel preserves the Bulgarian spirit

The Philip Koutev National School of Folk Arts is not just any school - it is a talent laboratory. It is the first school not only in Bulgaria but in the Balkans for professional study of folklore. It is located in the heart of the beautiful town of..

published on 2/12/25 11:38 AM