BULGARIA ROSE FESTIVAL – RОMANIA

The Church of the Nativity is also known as “St. Nikolay”, as it has a dual dedication. Completed in 1902 at the Shipka Monastery, it is a memorial to liberation from Ottoman rule and to those whose lives were lost in the battle at Shipka Pass in the Russian-Turkish War (1877/78). The battle was the turning point in the war.

Veliko Tarnovo – the city is often referred to as the „City of the Tsars“, Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its unique architecture. Contemporaries have described it as “God’s preserved town”, “The Great Tarnov”, “The queen of the towns”.

The Ivanovo rock churches, near Ruse.
The caves in the region had been inhabited by monks from the 1220s, when it was founded by the future Patriarch of Bulgaria Joachim I, to the 17th century, when they hewed cells, churches, and chapels out of solid rock. At the peak of the monastery complex, the number of churches was about 40, while the other premises were around 300, most of which are not preserved today.

Second Bulgarian Empire rulers such as Ivan Alexander and Ivan Asen II frequently donated to the complex, as evidenced by donor portraits in some churches. Other patrons included nobles from the capital, Tarnovo and the nearest big medieval town Cherven, with which the monastery complex had strong ties in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was a centrer of hesychasm in the Bulgarian lands in the 14th century and continued to exist in the early centuries of the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria but gradually decayed.

The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

Bucharest, a city of captivating contrasts, stands proudly as one of Central and Eastern Europe’s largest urban centers, often referred to as the “Little Paris” for its charm and allure.
Embark on a panoramic journey through this vibrant cityscape. Encounter the historical Revolution Square, the Royal Palace, now gracefully transformed into the Museum of Fine Arts, as well as the dignified Senate, the stately University Library, and the enchanting Temple of Music, known as “Athene,” renowned for its stylish design and a majestic dome soaring to 30 meters in height. Traverse Romagna Square and Victoria Square, behold the graceful Arc de Triomphe, a magnificent replica of its Parisian counterpart.

The Peles castle was built by the first King of Romania, Carol I of Hohenzollern–Sigmaringen, between 1873 and 1914. By 1883, its inauguration, it was used as a summer residence. Between 1890 and 1914, under the supervision of the Czech architect Karel Liman, considered the main architect, the castle was transformed and enlarged. Decoration: In the first shape (1883), the German neo-Renaissance style provides exterior and interior stylistic dominance with two exceptions: the neo-Ottoman and the neo-Rococo styles. In the second stage (1890-1914), fundamental changes to the volumes, façades, and interiors enriched the previous stylistic range, adapting the castle to the stylistic pluralism of Historicism.

It is said that Mikhail Cantacuzino and his family went on a trip to the holy places. One day, he reached an Orthodox monastery on Sinai Mountain, with Saint Catherine as its dedication day. Impressed by what he had seen and felt in the holy lands when he came home, he decided to build the Sinai Monastery with the same name as Sinai Mountain. The museum of Sinaia Monastery, built in 1895 on the occasion of the monastery’s bicentenary, is the first religious museum in the country and shelters invaluable worship objects, the first Bible translated in Romanian and printed at Bucharest (in 1688, with the goodwill of ruler Serban Cantacuzino) and a gorgeous collection of icons. Inside the church, there can also be found the epitaph made by Ana Roth, who worked on cotton cloth with needle and golden wire and colored silk between 1897 and 1900. The piece of work, of world value, is included on the UNESCO list.

Brashov, Romania
The picturesque town separates the Eastern and Southern Carpathians. Tourist program: the Old Town Hall, the Black Church – the largest Gothic cathedral in Eastern Europe, the White and Black Towers, the Church of St. Bartholomew” – the oldest architectural monument in the city, the narrowest street in Europe – Sfori.

The Old part of the town is  included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Seeing the one of most beautiful and preserved Medieval citadel in Europe. Nine of the 14 towers of the citadel have been preserved, as well as the entire medieval appearance of the buildings and streets inside.