Things to do in Central Balkans
-
A
Roman Fortress of Sexaginta Prista
Defensive walls, a tower, some barracks and a storage area are what remain of this once great fortress, completed in AD 70. Around 600 soldiers once stood guard here, guaranteeing safe passage for river traders from their high bluff over the river. Stone inscriptions, decorative sculptures and tombstones are also displayed, and background information is posted in English. The friendly staff will show you around, and, if you’re interested, to the somewhat more recent German Bunker, hewn out of bricks in WWII and still marvellously intact. Other ancient finds are kept in the cool confines of the underground bunker.
reviewed
-
B
Church of Sveta Troitsa
Behind the magnificent opera house is the Russian-style Church of Sveta Troitsa, Ruse’s oldest surviving Ottoman-era building, built in 1632. The Turkish stipulation that no church should stand higher than a mosque led builders here, as elsewhere, to build partially underground. Large, well-preserved murals and 16th-century crosses and icons are the standouts here, as are the tower’s stained-glass windows. The bell tower was a post-Ottoman addition from the late 19th century.
reviewed
-
C
Mehana Chiflika
[ourpick] Mehana Chiflika The enormous Chiflika is an excellent mehana with traditional furnishings, live music and a wide range of grilled meats. It’s a place for hearty eaters, and the rustic charm is only enhanced by the sight of some dishes being served up on what are essentially chipped-off tree stumps.
reviewed
-
D
Bally
This new club playing hip-hop and techno has both its supporters and detractors. With its large central dance floor, it can seem empty unless there’s a weekend crowd.
reviewed
-
E
Dom na Architekta
This wood-and-stone traditional tavern has great Bulgarian specialities, served in a balmy back garden in summer, moving indoors in front of a crackling fire in winter.
reviewed
-
F
Tsarevets Fortress
The inescapable symbol of this proud medieval town, this reconstructed fortress dominates the skyline, and is one of Bulgaria's most beloved monuments. The Tsarevets Museum-Reserve is located on Tsarevets Hill, which has been settled since time immemorial due to its strategic location. Thracians and Romans used it as a defensive position, but the Byzantines built the first significant fortress here between the 5th and 7th centuries.
The fortress was rebuilt and fortified by the Slavs and Bulgars between the 8th and 10th centuries, and again by the Byzantines in the early 12th century. When Târnovgrad became the Second Bulgarian Empire's capital, the fortress was truly mag…
reviewed
-
Nativity Memorial Church
Even before arriving in Shipka, you’ll see the splendid, onion-shaped golden domes of the Nativity Memorial Church glittering from amidst thick woods above the village, framed against the mountain. Part of the Shipka Monastery, and also known as the Church of St Nikolai, the magnificent structure was built in 1902 as a dedication to soldiers who died at the Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). The design is heavily influenced by Russian architecture, and features five golden domes and 17 church bells that can be heard for several kilometres when rung. Inside the crypt Russian soldiers who perished are interred, and there are some wonderful frescoes depict…
reviewed
-
Tsarevets Museum-Reserve
The inescapable symbol of this proud medieval town, this reconstructed fortress dominates the skyline, and is one of Bulgaria’s most beloved monuments. The Tsarevets Museum-Reserve is located on Tsarevets Hill, which has been settled since time immemorial due to its strategic location. Thracians and Romans used it as a defensive position, but the Byzantines built the first significant fortress here between the 5th and 7th centuries. The fortress was rebuilt and fortified by the Slavs and Bulgars between the 8th and 10th centuries, and again by the Byzantines in the early 12th century. When Târnovgrad became the Second Bulgarian Empire’s capital, the fortress was truly m…
reviewed
-
Galeriya Dimitâr Dobrovich
Galeriya Dimitâr Dobrovich is signposted from the centre as ‘Sirak Skirnik’. This art gallery in the park displays the works of 19th- and 20th-century Bulgarian artists, including many by its namesake, Sliven-born painter Dimitâr Dobrovich. Among the works, which display strong French and Italian influences, are portraits of local luminaries and ordinary people, as well as numerous impressionistic landscape paintings (including an evocative portrayal of Veliko Târnovo). The gallery’s most intriguing section, however, belongs to the Museum of Christian Art on the lower floor, which has a large collection of 18th- and 19th-century icons, some from the Tryavna sch…
reviewed
-
Hiking in the Sredna Gora
The Sredna Gora (Central Range) mountains are spread over 6000 sq km from Iskâr Gorge (near Sofia) to the Tundzha Valley (south of Yambol). The highest peak is Mt Bogdan (1603m) near Koprivshtitsa.
The Mountains of Bulgaria by Julian Perry provides a detailed description of the popular two- or three-day hike from Hisar (Hisarya) to Koprivshtitsa (or vice versa).
No dedicated map of the Sredna Gora is available, but most of the mountains and hiking routes are included in the map of Stara Planina that is published by Kartografia. The map of Koprivshtitsa, published by Domino and available in the village, includes a small, but clear, map with five enticing hiking routes arou…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Danube Bridge
Sights Some 6km Downstream From Ruse, This Double-Decker Highway And Railway Bridge Finished In 1954 Links The City With Giurgiu On The Romanian Side Of The Danube. At 2.8km In Length, And Towering 30m Above The Water, It's The Largest Steel Bridge In Europe.
In A Nod To The Neighbourly Bickering Between Bulgarians And Romanians, The Soviets Named It The Friendship Bridge. Whatever Filial Sentiments This Act May Have Inspired Were Sorely Tested In The 1980s, When A Romanian Chlorine-And-Sodium Plant Caused Massive Air Pollution And Health Problems In Ruse. More Recently, Locals Suffered The Misfortune Of Another Catastrophic Spill In Romania. In The Wake Of These Incident…
reviewed
-
Philip Kotev School
The Exhibition Hall of Carpets & Woodcarving, 500m northwest of the bus station, exhibits and sells examples of the famed Kotel style of carpets. The town also has several museums, the best being the History Museum, on the central square, which presents items dating from 19th-century revolutionary times, and Georgi Rakovski’s mammoth mausoleum. The Ethnographic Museum, about 200m west of the Exhibition Hall, is also worth a peek. For a more visceral connection with Bulgarian tradition, you can learn to play the gayda (Balkan bagpipe) and get tuition in other traditional music and dance at the Philip Kotev School, which sometimes holds recitals.
reviewed
-
History Museum
The Exhibition Hall of Carpets & Woodcarving, 500m northwest of the bus station, exhibits and sells examples of the famed Kotel style of carpets. The town also has several museums, the best being the History Museum, on the central square, which presents items dating from 19th-century revolutionary times, and Georgi Rakovski’s mammoth mausoleum. The Ethnographic Museum, about 200m west of the Exhibition Hall, is also worth a peek. For a more visceral connection with Bulgarian tradition, you can learn to play the gayda (Balkan bagpipe) and get tuition in other traditional music and dance at the Philip Kotev School, which sometimes holds recitals.
reviewed
-
Exhibition Hall of Carpets & Woodcarving
The Exhibition Hall of Carpets & Woodcarving, 500m northwest of the bus station, exhibits and sells examples of the famed Kotel style of carpets. The town also has several museums, the best being the History Museum, on the central square, which presents items dating from 19th-century revolutionary times, and Georgi Rakovski’s mammoth mausoleum. The Ethnographic Museum, about 200m west of the Exhibition Hall, is also worth a peek. For a more visceral connection with Bulgarian tradition, you can learn to play the gayda (Balkan bagpipe) and get tuition in other traditional music and dance at the Philip Kotev School, which sometimes holds recitals.
reviewed
-
Ethnographic Museum
The Exhibition Hall of Carpets & Woodcarving, 500m northwest of the bus station, exhibits and sells examples of the famed Kotel style of carpets. The town also has several museums, the best being the History Museum, on the central square, which presents items dating from 19th-century revolutionary times, and Georgi Rakovski’s mammoth mausoleum. The Ethnographic Museum, about 200m west of the Exhibition Hall, is also worth a peek. For a more visceral connection with Bulgarian tradition, you can learn to play the gayda (Balkan bagpipe) and get tuition in other traditional music and dance at the Philip Kotev School, which sometimes holds recitals.
reviewed
-
Samovodska Charshiya Complex
Roughly opposite the Hotel Bolyarski, ul Rakovski veers upwards from the main road, ul Stambolov. On and behind it is the Samovodska Charshiya Complex, the town's historic centre of craftsmanship; blacksmiths, potters and gunsmiths, among other artisans, still practice their trades here. The numerous bookshops and purveyors of antiques, jewellery and art are also housed in appealing Bulgarian National Revival houses.
It's a great place for shopping, or just a stroll, as is the equally appealing old residential quarter of Varosha just above it.At the beginning of ul Rakovski, a prominent map signposts the name and location of each shop in the charshiya, in both Bulgarian a…
reviewed
-
Freedom Monument
About 13km along a winding road north of Shipka village is the Shipka Pass (1306m). Some 900 steps lead to the top of Mt Stoletov (1326m), dominated by the impressive, 32m-high Freedom Monument. It was built in 1934 as a memorial to the 7000 Russian troops and Bulgarian volunteers who, in August 1877, died while successfully repelling numerous attacks by some 27,000 Turkish soldiers desperately trying to relieve their besieged comrades in Pleven. To reach the pass from Kazanlâk or Shipka, take a bus to Haskovo, Gabrovo or Veliko Târnovo and ask the driver to let you off at the Shipka Pass (Shipchensky prokhod).
reviewed
-
Pri Fabrikadzhiyata
With a curious name that literally means ‘at the manufacturer’s place’, this somewhat posh restaurant in the courtyard of the Hotel National Palace serves an extensive range of good Bulgarian dishes and features somewhat bland live renditions of forgotten pop chestnuts on most nights. There’s seating indoors, outdoors and (when there’s enough of a crowd) in an atmospheric 18th-century house next door, which once belonged to a famous revival-period industrialist, Dobri Zheliakov. The restaurant’s prices are relatively steep, though the food is good, with the roast lamb being downright succulent.
reviewed
-
Vasil Levski Museum
Further up ul Vasil Levski, a small park contains the disused and closed Kurshum Mosque, built in 1485 during the Ottoman occupation. Continue up the mall to the town square, then head left (west) for about 300m, past the clock tower, to the Vasil Levski Museum. This set of rooms around a cobblestone courtyard contains several exhibits about Levski with explanations in English. Ask the caretaker to show you the modern shrine, where you can see a lock of Levski’s hair while listening to taped religious chants in Bulgarian. A guided tour in English costs 2.50 lv per person.
reviewed
-
Shumen Fortress
Towering over the city from a steep hillside, the Shumen Fortress dates originally to the early Iron Age. It was augmented and reinforced by the Thracians in the 5th century BC, and between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, the Romans added towers and more walls. It was again fortified later on by the Byzantines, who made it an important garrison. During the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396), the fortress was one of northeast Bulgaria’s most significant settlements, renowned for its pottery and metalwork. However, invading Ottomans in the late 14th century burnt and looted the fortress.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Tomb
In hilly Tyulbe Park, just up from the Kulata Ethnological Complex, is a very large and very locked tomb, built in the 4th century BC for a Thracian ruler. Discovered during the construction of a bomb shelter in 1944, the tomb is now a Unesco World Heritage site. Along the dromos (vaulted entry corridor) is a double frieze with battle scenes. The burial chamber is 12m in diameter, and covered by a beehive dome typical of those built by the Thracians between the 3rd and 5th centuries BC. The dome contains several murals that feature events such as a funeral feast and chariot race.
reviewed
-
Oslekov House
Oslekov House was built by Oslekov, a rich merchant who was killed in the line of duty during the 1876 April Uprising. Oslekov House was built between 1853 and 1856, and is arguably the best example of Bulgarian National Revival–period architecture in Koprivshtitsa, with a triple-arched entrance, spacious interior, stylish furniture and brightly coloured walls. Woodcarved ceilings, collections of 19th-century costumes, paintings and jewellery add to the experience. Several woodcarvings, some of which were bought during Oslekov’s extensive travels, are also on display.
reviewed
-
Museum of the Roses
The grandly named Research Institute for Roses, Aromatic & Medicinal Plants houses this tiny museum. The photos and displays explain (in Bulgarian only) the 300-year-old method of cultivating the roses, picking their petals and processing the oil. The attached shop sells rose oils, perfumes, shampoos, liqueurs, tea bags and jams. The museum is 3km north of the centre up ul Osvobozhdenie; take a taxi (3 lv one way), or bus 3 from Kazanlâk’s main square. Guided tours (rates negotiable) are available in English and French, but ring first about opening times in winter.
reviewed
-
Geo Milev House-Museum
The unique Geo Milev House-Museum, set around a lovely enclosed garden, contains manuscripts and paintings by locally-born Milev (1895-1925). Despite losing an eye in WWI, Milev continued to write poetry dealing with social issues, such as Septemvri, about the September 1923 agrarian revolution. The political sympathies of Milev's work led to it being confiscated by the authorities.
The writer was arrested, put on trial, and then kidnapped by the police and murdered. Contemporary artists also sell their work in the museum, which has a relaxing café in the garden courtyard.
reviewed
-
G
Church of Sveti Dimitâr
Across the river, enclosed by a high wall, is Târnovo’s oldest church, the beautifully proportioned Church of Sveti Dimitâr. Built in the so-called Târnovo style, it was named after St Dimitrios, patron saint of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. During the church’s consecration in 1185, Tsars Asen and Petâr proclaimed an uprising against Byzantine rule, which would create the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396). It’s often closed, but a warden at the Church of Sveti Petar & Pavel can open it on request.
reviewed
