On the Beach: The Changing Meaning of the Bulgarian Coast after 1989

Abstract

This article examines the physical changes and the shifting symbolic meaning of the Black Sea Coast in Bulgaria after 1989. It explores three stages of development: the coast as a place of refuge and intimacy in the last years of socialism, how new touristic development embodied economic aspirations from 1997 until 2008, and recent years in which over-building and corruption have become a mark of national embarrassment and anxiety. Beachfront development after socialism was meant to both rejuvenate the flagging national economy and to use improved spaces of tourism to make a visual representation of a "new" Bulgaria. However, for coastal residents, prosperity was not forthcoming and financia..