SOFIA.- A new traveling exhibition at Bulgaria’s National History Museum is shining a light on the industrial heritage of Pernik, charting how a modest village transformed into one of the country’s key mining and industrial centers. Titled The City of Black Gold, the exhibition opened on February 24, 2026, and will remain on view through April in the museum’s temporary exhibition hall on the third floor.

Organized by the Regional History Museum of Pernik and presented in Sofia as part of an ongoing institutional partnership, the exhibition explores the discovery and exploitation of coal deposits that reshaped the town’s destiny. The project was coordinated by Dr. Petranka Nedelcheva, with Dr. Desislava Milanova serving as curator for the Pernik museum, and exhibition design by Ivaylo Panayotov of Ivoform. The initiative has been supported financially by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture and realized in partnership with the Municipal History Museum of Radomir.

Drawing on archival photographs, original mining tools and equipment from Mines Pernik, and an educational animation, the exhibition follows the story of Pernik from the years after Bulgaria’s Liberation to its emergence as a symbol of national industrialization. Once a small settlement nestled beneath a medieval fortress, Pernik’s fortunes changed when its rich coal deposits — soon dubbed “black gold” — began to be exploited, setting in motion a period of rapid economic and social growth.

The importance of the mines was recognized at the highest level. In 1924, Tsar Boris III famously described Mines Pernik as the “black pearl of the beautiful Bulgarian land,” underscoring their strategic value to the country. Just five years later, in 1929, the settlement was officially granted city status, solidifying its identity as the “city of black gold.”

By the early twentieth century, Pernik had become one of Bulgaria’s fastest-developing urban centers and the first to adopt a modern urban planning scheme. European mining experts drawn to the region contributed not only technical knowledge but also ideas that helped shape Pernik into a contemporary industrial hub.

Today, that industrial past remains central to the city’s historical identity. The exhibition highlights the work and dedication of generations of miners, presenting their story as one of resilience, collective effort, and ambition for progress. On display are mining lamps, mechanical calculating machines, telephones, measuring devices, optical theodolites, and precision detonators — objects that illustrate both the technological evolution of mining and the everyday realities of those who worked underground. Many of these artifacts come from the collection of Pernik’s first mining museum.

Beyond recounting the history of one city, The City of Black Gold also demonstrates the value of collaboration between cultural institutions in preserving and sharing Bulgaria’s historical memory. By bringing Pernik’s story to the capital, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on how natural resources, industrial labor, and urban planning helped shape the modern Bulgarian state.