WHO CREATES THE PROBLEMS IN BOTANICAL GARDEN - BALCHIK

In response to the publications by Daniela Farhi, correspondent for "Trud" in Varna: "Tourists didn’t see the Palace in Balchik due to double fees" and "At the 'Palace' – Balchik, only those on a list are allowed to enter for weddings," we find it concerning that the position of the University Botanical Garden in Balchik and Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" was not sought. The implications in the articles not only tarnish the reputation of the University Botanical Garden in Balchik and Sofia University but also represent a violation of the public's right to receive accurate information.
In the interest of objectivity, we want readers to be aware of the following facts:
By Order No. XVI.1426 dated 27.07.1955, Minister Ruben Avramov granted the park of the former summer residence of the Romanian Queen in the town of Balchik, along with the nursery and farmyard, to Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" for the creation of a Botanical Garden, as a branch of the University Botanical Garden in Sofia. After a comprehensive re-functionalization of the park, it was transformed from a park with restricted access into a park with special purposes and broad public access – the Botanical Garden. This activity is carried out in compliance with the aforementioned order and defines the status of the park area as part of the activities of the Botanical Garden institution. According to the Additional Provisions of the Biodiversity Act, "A Botanical Garden is an institution that maintains collections of documented living plants for experimental botanical research, natural science and environmental education, and is open to the public for more than five months of the year."
Council Decision No. 218/2011 again settles the legal situation regarding the management rights of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski," which still exists today. By the Council decision, the management rights over the entire area of the Architectural and Park Complex "The Palace" were granted to Sofia University. The Ministry of Culture was granted management rights only over individual buildings located within the site.
The ticket for visiting the University Botanical Garden in Balchik grants access to the entire area of the former summer residence of Queen Maria, the Exhibition Greenhouse, and the "Nursery" garden. The administration of revenue from entry tickets by Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" through the University Botanical Garden Balchik is regulated according to Article 14, paragraph 3 of the State Property Act, based on the rights of government agencies and budget-funded legal entities to manage and use the properties granted to them by the state, at their own expense and responsibility. The Cultural Heritage Act allows owners of immovable cultural properties to manage revenues from entrance fees for visits. The University Botanical Garden in Balchik is self-financing, and the revenue from entry fees is reinvested in the development and maintenance of scientific, educational, research, and conservation activities regarding plant biodiversity.
A ticket purchased at the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" box office should provide access to the properties granted by the state in this particular case. Currently, only one building is accessible – the "Quiet Nest" villa, as the other buildings have been turned into hotels (resting stations of the Ministry of Culture) or have been rented out for establishments and other commercial objects. Visitors are informed by State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" staff, while visiting the Botanical Garden, that they are required to pay an additional ticket for the Palace, even if they do not wish to visit the so-called Queen's Rooms. If they refuse, they are stopped somewhere in the middle of their walk in the Botanical Garden, and, against all ethical and legal norms, are forced to buy a second ticket or are made to leave the premises. This causes confusion and indignation among visitors. The unreasonably high ticket price of 15 BGN for visiting State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" (Quiet Nest Villa) discourages tourists.
It is important to note that the Botanical Garden in Balchik exhibits, in its park area, not only collections of perennial plants but also seasonal collections of herbaceous flowering and leaf-deciduous species, which are replaced three times a year. The State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" does not invest any funds in the infrastructure that services the tourist flow and administers revenue from the intellectual product of the botanists, namely the plant collections. The State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" also manages revenues from hotel accommodations, building rentals, and not least, from the "Palace" beach. The Ministry of Culture's vacation stations in Sozopol and Ahtopol are funded by the revenue from the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center," largely at the expense of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski."
A shocking fact is that since 2020, the public toilets in the Architectural-Park Complex, built by the state in 1982, have been locked by order of the director of the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" and can only be used upon presenting a barcode from the entrance ticket to the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center." In practice, staff, participants in cultural events, Botanical Garden visitors, and others cannot use the sanitary facilities.
All weddings and christenings organized at the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" actually take place on the alleys of the Botanical Garden, not in the buildings of the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center." In this specific case, since the access control system is under Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski," controlled access is implemented. There is a regulatory requirement from the General Directorate "Labor Inspectorate" for special briefings for third parties using the Botanical Garden and other properties of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski."
The claims in the publications that for years the director of the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" has insisted on having only one ticket office at the entrance are also false. For almost 10 years, the initiator for signing an agreement between the two institutions has always been Sofia University, but unfortunately, such an agreement does not exist to this day.
From 2008 to 2012, Agreement No. 199/2008 between Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and the Ministry of Culture was in force for the introduction of an electronic access control system and joint revenue reporting. State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" staff systematically started to violate the terms of the agreement, even leading to the disappearance of elements of the access control system and its shutdown. The then-director of the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" disrupted the continuation of the agreement with his actions.
It is unethical to raise this issue now, while intensive talks between Sofia University and the Ministry of Culture are ongoing to resolve the problem.
There is no misunderstanding between Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and the Ministry of Culture regarding the legal and factual situation of this place. The issue concerns the systematic violation of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" management rights by the director of the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center." Supporting this claim is the refusal of the director of the State Cultural Institute "Palace Cultural Center" to sign the application to start research activities to stabilize the landslide registered on the territory of the University Botanical Garden in Balchik, now for the fifth year.