On Sunday I visited the National Gallery (Kvadrat 500) in Sofia to see the exhibition ‘Wrapped Reichstag’ (Christo and Jeanne-Claude). As always when I’m there, I also looked at the other temporary exhibitions and the permanent collection.

The exterior corridors have been partially cleared of the sculptures that usually stand there, while others remain exposed to extreme cold and damp. The situation is even worse in the halls, which house, among other things, the works of two of Bulgaria’s most famous painters, Vladimir Dimitrov-Maystora and Zlatyu Boyadzhiev. It is almost unbearably cold, there is no heating, and in some places, condensation or meltwater is dripping. The latter problem has been “solved” by placing a plastic container next to one of the affected artworks (see photo).

The top floor is cordoned off and completely inaccessible, and one shudders to think what it must be like up there now.

While the rooms on the ground floor are well heated, the exterior corridors and upper floors reveal that the museum apparently has inadequate thermal insulation. This is particularly noticeable on the two top floors. While outside temperatures are well below zero (up to -11 degrees), it is also very cold inside and apparently also damp in some areas.

You don’t have to be an art expert to know that humidity and extreme cold can cause serious damage to a work of art, especially a painting. It is almost unbearable for me to see that this museum—after all, the National Museum with the most important collection in Bulgaria!—treats its national cultural heritage with such disregard. I doubt that the works inaccessible to the public have been protected from the cold and damp. Certainly, part of the paintings that are on display haven’t been! Why is this? I am appalled and utterly outraged by this almost criminal neglect of the conditions in which part of the exhibited collection (and the part of the collection now being withheld from the public) is displayed and stored! (I wonder if the situation in the Palace, the other main building of the National Gallery, is any different.)

There’s a second, equally unacceptable issue. The museum entrance fee is now €7.67 (or 15 leva). That’s a very steep price for most Bulgarians. (I’m not sure if the price wasn’t recently 10 leva, and they used the introduction of the Euro as an excuse to round it up by 50%, but perhaps I’m mistaken.)

This hefty price includes access to the permanent and temporary exhibitions. The problem is, about 40% of the permanent exhibition is currently inaccessible. Is there any information about this on the museum’s website? Nope. Is there a notice at the museum entrance? Nope. Are you informed about it when you buy your ticket? Nope.

So you pay the full price and only get about 60% of what you’re supposed to see. In any other industry, this would be considered fraudulent misrepresentation, theft from the customer, and violation of competition law (with very high fines for the persons responsible).

But we’re talking about culture here. A little bit of fraud, complete disregard for customers, and even endangering national cultural heritage are apparently acceptable, as long as the cash register rings.

It would be nice if my rant had some consequences. But knowing the Bulgarian situation, that’s unlikely… 

© Thomas Hübner and Mytwostotinki, 2014-26. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas Hübner and Mytwostotinki with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.