Photos: Tryavna Municipality
One year after the Municipality of Tryavna announced that the renovation of the town’s clock tower was urgent, the Ministry of Culture issued a statement.
In response to a request for information under the Access to Public Information Act, the ministry said that its opinion was dated December 5, 2025, and that “The Ministry of Culture approves: “Design permit and investment project for the repair of the bell tower, roof, internal staircase, and facade restoration of a building of single immovable cultural value – the Clock Tower of national importance.”
The investment project is in the “technical” phase and consists of the following parts: architectural survey, architecture, structural opinion, and conservation and restoration.
The opinion issued by the ministry sets out several requirements.
All conservation and restoration activities must be carried out by persons or under the direct supervision of persons listed in the public register of persons authorized to carry out these activities, in accordance with the Cultural Heritage Act.
Before large-scale application of preparations on the facades and wooden elements of the tower, a test should be carried out on a limited test area.
Conservation and restoration activities are subject to approval by a commission in accordance with Article 83a of the Cultural Heritage Act. The commission is appointed by order of the Minister of Culture or an official authorized by him, and must include representatives of the National Institute for Immovable Cultural Heritage (NIICH), the Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and the relevant municipal administration.
Only after establishing the quality of the restoration does the commission make a proposal to the Minister of Culture to accept or reject the acceptance of the work with justification. The final step is an order by the minister to accept the conservation and restoration work, which he is required to issue within one month of reviewing the commission’s report.
From here on, it is up to the Municipality of Tryavna.
This was clarified by the Ministry of Culture in response to a question from “Za Istinata” about when the renovation will begin, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.
“The responsibility for maintaining a given site lies with its owner, as does its preservation and restoration, and the matter should be referred to the Municipality of Tryavna.”
writes in its response, and three days later a notification letter arrived from the ministry informing that they had forwarded the questions from “Za Istinata” to the municipal administration in Tryavna with a copy to NINKN.
Za Istinata also sent separate questions to the municipality of Tryavna, but no response had been received by the time this article was written.
A year earlier,
on January 15, 2025, a notice was published on the Tryavna Municipality website that Mayor Dencho Minev had convened an urgent meeting with experts regarding the compromised and poor condition of one of the supporting beams on the facade of the symbol of Renaissance Tryavna – the Clock Tower.
At that time, a comprehensive survey of the tower’s structure was carried out, according to which one of the reasons for the compromised condition of the beam was the clock mechanism and the blows to the tower bell over the past 210 years. “If no measures are taken, there is a risk that its condition will deteriorate further and the upper part will collapse,” the experts invited by the mayor informed.
At this meeting, a decision was made “to prepare a notification letter to the Ministry of Culture and the General Directorate “Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage” as soon as possible, requesting emergency repairs to the supporting beam and preservation of the authentic clock mechanism.” As it turned out, “as soon as possible” meant almost 12 months—that’s how long it took for the ministry to make a decision.
The clock tower in Tryavna was built in 1814. The following year, a clock mechanism was installed. It is a symbol of Tryavna and, according to the registers, is a cultural monument of national importance.
