The next period of outstanding architectural development was the National Revival period of the late eighteenth century and the nineteenth century. Flourishing commerce gave new life to such towns as Plovdiv and Turnovo and created new urban centers in which affluent merchants and artisans built homes and public buildings in a richly ornamented style that came to be known as the National Revival style. These two-story structures made extensive use of stone and wood, the latter usually elaborately carved. The interiors were light and spacious. In addition to carved doors, ceilings, and built-in sideboards, the interiors were often decorated with wall paintings. Typical of National Revival architecture is the Rila Monastery; its interior walls are covered with frescoes, and its interior and exterior abound in carved wooden structural members and decorative details. The monastery, like other National Revival structures, reflects the Byzantine influence in the many large arched windows, arched ceilings, and arcades.
The third period of distinguished architectural development is the contemporary one. Industrial growth since World War II and a rapidly growing tourist industry since the mid-1950s have called for large-scale construction of needed facilities. New resort towns arose on the Black Sea; industrial new towns grew in other locations; and hotels, apartment complexes, and public buildings were needed throughout the country. Although much of the architecture imitates the colossal style of Stalinist work, some of it is of high artistic quality and imagination. The Balkantourist Hotel in Turnovo and several hotels in Black Sea resorts are often singled out as outstanding examples of modern architecture; they combine traditional features with modern materials and techniques and blend them into a design that fits into the natural surroundings.
Several young architects have achieved international reputations by winning major design competitions in different parts of the world. Winning designs have included plans for the development of the city center of Closure, in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), and the city center of Tunis, and the redesigning of the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco. Since the 1960s the most talented young architects have been spending some time in Western Europe to expand their knowledge and experience.
SCHOLARSHIP AND SCIENCE
Isolated for five centuries from the main currents of intellectual and scientific developments abroad and denied the education required to undertake any scholarly or scientific activity of their own, the Bulgarian people do not have a long tradition of scholarship and science. Some intellectual activity did take place in the isolated mountain monasteries, and it eventually inspired the National Revival. Because of this isolation, however, the focus of the intellectual activity was parochial.
The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1869 as part of the National Revival movement and has served, together with the University of Sofia, as the rallying point of intellectuals and scholars. After World War II the Academy of Sciences was expanded by the incorporation of several independent research institutions. Its membership was also vastly increased with the admission of individuals whose loyalty to the new government would assure the proper slant to their scholarly work. The Academy of Agricultural Sciences was founded in 1961 to provide the scientific know-how that would expand the output of collectivized agriculture. The two academies coordinate and supervise all research and scholarly activity undertaken in the country.
Emphasis in all scholarly and scientific activity has been on matters directly applicable to industrial and agricultural development. Work in the social sciences has been directed at the government's efforts to transform Bulgaria into a socialist state. The work of scientists and scholars must conform to the various theories and formulas developed by Soviet scholars and must not dispute or contradict the basic precepts of Marxism-Leninism as interpreted by the Bulgarian leadership. In the early 1970s scholarly activity in Bulgaria had not yet attained the freedom of thought and expression that has been evident in Poland and Hungary.