Balgarianovinite.com An exhibition of Bulgarian flat-weave carpets, or kilims, is on at the Museum of the National Revival and Constituent Assembly in Veliko Tarnovo. It is part of The Path of Bulgarian Kilims project, which was presented Saturday. The project aims to promote the beauty of Bulgarian kilims and support the initiative to establish a Kilim-Making Museum, said Dutch researcher and collector Jacob van Beelen, owner of the world’s largest collection of authentic Bulgarian kilims.
The project brings together three interconnected exhibitions, Vladislava Andreeva from the organizing team said. The first is “The Path of the Fleece: From Flock to Kilim”, accompanied by video projections presenting the entire process of making a Bulgarian kilim. This exhibition is on display at Hadzhi Nikoli Inn in Veliko Tarnovo. The second is “Follow the Path of Kilims” – a city photographic exhibition of 400 posters and 44 vinyl panels in Veliko Tarnovo and Gabrovo, as part of the cities’ joint bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2032. And, finally, “The Path from Oblivion to National Heritage”, presented Saturday at the Constituent Assembly building. The latter traces the process of expert identification of the collection of Bulgarian kilims, some of which have been granted “national heritage” status by the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IEFSEM-BAS).
On Saturday, old kilim owners were encouraged to bring in their kilims and had them assessed by IEFSEM-BAS experts.
According to Kaloyan Yankov, secretary of the Bulgarian Kilim Foundation, which was founded by Jacob van Beelen, Veliko Tarnovo has the potential, the desire and the location to host a National Kilim Museum. In his words, state institutions need to take action and support the initiative.
The kilims displayed as part of the project are part of a collection assembled over decades by the Dutch collector Jacob van Beelen and is now managed by the Bulgarian Kilim Foundation. Some of the kilims have been recognized as movable cultural heritage with “national treasure” status following expert evaluation by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum.
Putting the collection in a dedicated museum has long been a dream of Van Beelen’s.
The Path of Bulgarian Kilims project is on from August 14 to September 27 this year with financial support from the Culture Programme of Veliko Tarnovo Municipality and is part of an initiative to establish a national gallery-museum of Bulgarian kilims. The initiative is also part of the bid by Veliko Tarnovo and Gabrovo to become European Capital of Culture in 2032. The presentation of the project was accompanied by a performance by the Rosna Kitka women’s choir conducted by Georgi Petrov. Exhibitions in Veliko Tarnovo and Gabrovo Highlight Country’s Kilim-Making Heritage 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-17 09:34:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law