Bulgarian Antarctic base

[MacTeP]

St. Kliment Ohridski Base is a Bulgarian Antarctic base on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands.

The base, originally known as Sofia University Refuge, was named in 1993 after Clement of Ohrid (840-916 AD), a prominent scholar and first Bulgarian bishop, whose work was commissioned and sponsored by Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria.

The base is located at 62°38′29″S, 60°21′53″W, which is at an elevation of 12 to 15 m on Bulgarian Beach, 130 m inland from the shore of Emona Anchorage, east-northeast of Hespérides Point and southwest by west of Sinemorets Hill, overlooking the Grand Lagoon. The base area is crossed by the melt-water Rezovski Creek in the summer, providing a water supply.

History:
Following an unsuccessful landing attempt at Cape Vostok on the nothwestern extremity of Alexander Island, two prefabricated huts were assembled on Livingston Island between 26 and 29 April 1988 by a four-member Bulgarian party logistically supported by the Soviet Research Ship Mikhail Somov. The facilities were later refurbished and inaugurated as a permanent base on 11 December 1993.

An expansion programme at St. Kliment Ohridski including the erection of a new multi-purpose building was carried out between 1996 and 1998 and subsequently. The St. Ivan Rilski Chapel built in 2003 is the first Eastern Orthodox edifice in Antarctica and the southernmost Eastern Orthodox building of worship in the world. A post office of the Bulgarian Posts has been in operation at St. Kliment Ohridski since 1994/95.
The base is regularly visited by representatives of the institutions responsible for Bulgaria's activities in Antarctica, including President Georgi Parvanov of Bulgaria in January 2005.


Use:
Personnel and cargo from supply ships are offloaded by Zodiac boats at the southwestern extremity of the beach, 300 m away from the main base facilities. A designated helipad site is located on the northern side of the Grand Lagoon.

St. Kliment Ohridski enjoys the exceptional advantage of several convenient overland routes leading from Bulgarian Beach to a variety of internal and coastal areas of Livingston Island including the Balkan Snowfield, Burdick Ridge and Pliska Ridge, Tangra Mountains and the glaciers Perunika, Huntress, Huron, and Kaliakra, and Saedinenie Snowfield. The Spanish base Juan Carlos I is situated 2.7 km to the south-souhwest, and is reached either by sea or by a 5.5 km route, while the central location of Camp Academia site is 11 km due east in Tangra Mountains.

The base is used by scientists from Bulgaria and other nations for research in the field of geology, biology, glaciology, topography and geographic information. St. Kliment Ohridski is visited by cruise ships from Hannah Point, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Antarctica situated but 12 km to the west.