Bulgaria had some 40 000 monuments of culture on its territory, Georgi Ugrinov, head of the National Institute for Monuments of Culture said.

The number included residential and administrative buildings, archaeological sites, monasteries and churches, among others, Focus news agency reported.

According to Ugrinov, the exact figure varies, because the list of monuments is under constant actualisation.

In some cases buildings, which do qualify to become monuments of culture, had been announced as such, and the institute has to exclude them from the list.

In Sofia only there were nearly 6000 such buildings.

Bulgaria has an abundance of monuments of culture, Ugrinov said. As an example, India also had 40 000 monuments of culture, but the country is incomparably bigger and with a rich culture too, he said.

Unlike other countries, where cultural monument’s preservation is state priority, Bulgarian authorities lacked a clear will to preserve cultural heritage.