DISCOVER BULGARIA

Rila Monastery – the biggest Monastery in Bulgaria. It was founded by the most respected Bulgarian saint-anchorite Ivan Rilski (876-946). It’s museum exhibition is one of the richest and most valuable collections on the Balkans. The Monastery has the UNESCO status of an international cultural monument.

Plovdiv is located in the Southern/Central part of Bulgaria. Being the second largest city in the country, it has a population of 350’000. There is a kind of magic in Plovdiv in all seasons. Remains of ancient, mediaeval, revival and modern culture coexist and are interwoven into the unobtrusive, irresistible and eternal beauty of this city. They do not stand in each other’s way; they complement and enrich each other to make Plovdiv a synonym of Bulgarian history and a genuine world city.

Kazanlak – Valey of roses – Kazanlak Valley is located between the Balkan and Central forest and is known for its beauty and fertility. Distance to Sofia – 220 km. In the valley far Tundzha River flows. Famous by the production of rose oil, the city is known like The Capital of the rose.

Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak– It is one of the most valuable monument of Thracian architecture and art from the end of the 4 and the beginning of the 3 BC. It was found in 1944 in a mould near the town of Kazanluk. This is the best preserved monument of Thracian art in Bulgaria and one of the few masterpieces of antique painting we have today. It is announced for a UNESCO monument in 1979.

  Nessebar – One of the oldest towns in Europe is situated on a beautiful small peninsula in the Black sea.
The old town is included in UNESCO’s list of cultural monuments with world importance.
There are about 30 churches in Nessebur. Impressive architectural monuments are also the old houseс in Nessebur, built in the typical 16-19 century style.

Madara Horseman – situated 16 km. of Sumen, it is the oldest stone relief in Europe. It is one of the most enigmatic monuments in UNESCO’s world Heritage List, unique stone relief. Carved on a massive cliff some 23 meters high, it is representative of early Medieval Bulgarian artistry. The relief depicts a horseman in a natural pose with a sword in his hand. At the feet of the horse is a lion, and behind the rider is depicted his hunting dog. One legend has it that a Roman emperor was hunting on the plateau when he fell off the cliff and died. His relatives memorialized him by engaging a master to carve his image on the cliff.
In 2008 it was chosen as the national symbol of Bulgaria.

Arbanassi – Кnown like village-museum, the village of Arbanassi was founded in the late 15th century by Christian settlers from the South-Western parts of the Balkan Peninsula. All those favourable conditions brought about to the unusual prosperity of the village in 17th-18th Arbanassi became an important trading centre. Arbanassi was the main supplier of suet, tallow and butter to Tzarigrad, now known as Istanbul.
In our days there are 144 buildings in Arbanassi specify like historical and culture monuments.

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”.

Tsarevetz – Tsarevets housed the palaces of the Bulgarian Emperors and the Patriarchate, as well as a number of administrative and residential edifices surrounded by thick walls. In the Middle Ages it was among the main European centres of culture. The inaccessible hill of Tsarevets was the best place where the supreme power of the Bulgarian tsars could be established second town in words and acts after Constantinople”.

ETARA – Architectural ethnographic complex “Etar” is the first one of this type in Bulgaria. He was found on the 7 of September 1964 year. The museum is situated 8 km South of Gabrovo. It consist 10 objects and its one of the most riches and well kept active technical collection around the European museums on the open air. This is the reason the water wheel to be the emblem to the Etar. The most important specialty to the collection is that all objects are in action as it was it the past. The craftsman trade street offers 16 models to the Balkan architecture, showing the original talant to Revival builders. The preliminary design and methodology were done by the Gabrovian Lazar Donkov (1908 – 1976) who was also the first director of the museum. If you want to feel the whiff of the past, to see the miraculous power of the water, flowing in a chute, to enjoy the Renaissance architecture, to observe ancient national customs, then visit the Ethnographical Open Air museum “Etar”.

Koprivshtitsa – The felicities of ecologic paradise are waiting for you here, in the piece of the old land of Bulgaria, encircled by a crown of mountain tops, over which the blue sky shines, filled with the scent of pine tree sap.
The architectural complex of Koprivshtitza is one of the few completely preserved architectural town ensembles from the Renaissance time and in 1971 was given the status of a national architectural reserve.
The beauty of renaissance architecture was created by the skilful hands of the local masters of building, wood-carving, painting whose works of art are the renaissance houses. They are marvellous combinations of stone and wood, contrasts of whitewashed planes and dark wooden parts, exotic wall paintings and ceilings, decorated with rich carvings.