Sights in Rila & Pirin Mountains
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Church of Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno
Within the monastery's walls, four levels of colourful balconies - with monastic cells, storerooms, a refectory and kitchen - surround the large courtyard, where stands the magnificent Church of Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno, Bulgaria's grandest monastery church. Built between 1834 and 1837, the structure is crowned by three great domes.
Its outside walls are covered with frescoes both vivid and harrowing (or humorous, depending on your disposition), depicting hell, where demons with whips, chains and pitchforks torture sinners in various states of woe and undress. The happier paintings, depicting the virtuous accompanied by angels and saints, indicate the moral lesson that ste…
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Mitko Manolev Winery
For the most atmospheric adventure in degustatsia (wine tasting), clamber up the hillside to the Mitko Manolev Winery. Also known as Mitko Sheshtaka ('the Six-Fingered') it's basically a cellar dug into the rocks, and an informal hut with tables and chairs outside, for sampling (and buying) both red and white wine. It's along the hillside trail between the Bolyaskata Kâshta ruins and the Kordopulov House.
There are certainly worse things than whiling away the hours in the sunshine with a glass of Melnik red, and the views of the town and cliffs from up here are wonderful as well.
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Archaeological Museum
The centrally located Archaeological Museum, built over a Roman villa’s remains, contains tombstones and votive tablets, plus the original villa’s mosaic floor. Sandanski’s apparent link to Spartacus is explained (in Bulgarian), and items from the adjacent ruins of the 5th-century Sveta Ioanna Basilica are also displayed. The basilica ruins themselves are small, but fun to wander around. Much less prominent Byzantine ruins are up on ul Mara Buneva, possibly including a baptistry, though there are no descriptions and not much is visible.
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House-Museum of Nikola Vaptsarov
The House-Museum of Nikola Vaptsarov is where Nikola Vaptsarov (1909–42), a respected antifascist poet and activist, was born. Influenced by communist ideology while a student, his populist writings led Vaptsarov to be arrested and tortured by the wartime fascist government; he wrote his most famous poem, in fact, while awaiting execution. Period décor in the museum’s rooms, plus photographs, documents and Vaptsarov’s personal belongings are exhibited, while a short video, followed by an audio tape (English, French or German) provides background.
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History Museum
The History Museum contains archaeological and ethnographical displays, models of engines and furnaces, displays on the town’s icon-painting heritage and the printing press that produced Samokov’s first Bulgarian-language magazines in 1844. The upstairs photo gallery is devoted to the old town and 19th- and early-20th-century family photos. It’s a few metres west of the square.
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Museum
The 19th-century revolutionary leader, Vasil Levski, formed and trained insurgents at the monastery and urged the monks themselves to take up arms against the Turks in 1876. This history is highlighted in the small, separate museum on the 3rd floor. The museum door is usually locked, but staff at the reception office inside the gate can open it.
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Museum of Otets Paisii Hilendarski
The Museum of Otets Paisii Hilendarski commemorates the life of this local monk, author and instigator of Bulgarian nationalism. The museum’s chapel includes a replica of the room at the Serbian Hilandarski Monastery on Greece’s Mt Athos, where Paisii wrote his seminal and fulsome narrative of the history of the Bulgarian nation.
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Kordopulov House
The Kordopulov House, built in 1754 and former home of one of Melnik’s foremost wine merchants, is a truly impressive structure. The lovely sitting rooms have been carefully restored, and boast 19th-century murals, stained-glass windows and exquisite carved wooden ceilings, plus couches along the walls, bedecked with colourful pillows.
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Historical Museum
At the time of writing, two new museums were opening: the first, the Historical Museum, also known as Radonova Kâshta after the building in which it’s housed, contains, believe it or not, finds dating back to 6000 BC, as well as antique, medieval and 19th-century National Revival–period items.
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Velyanov’s House
Velyanov’s House features elaborately painted scenes and woodcarvings from the ‘Bansko School’ of carving, icon and fresco painting. The Bansko Permanent Icon Exhibition has more Bansko School creations. Both museums can be opened on weekends by prior arrangement.
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Town Park
The large Town Park contains over 200 species of Mediterranean plants, surrounding mineral baths and swimming pools (admission 1.50 lv; h09:00-19:00 summer) where locals unwind, a small lake with paddle boats and a Summer Theatre. A lazy stream runs through the park, and is crossed by a rocking bridge.
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House-Museum of Neofit Rilski
Housed in a former schoolhouse, the House-Museum of Neofit Rilski exhibits manuscripts by, and photos of, Rilski (1793–1881), the father of Bulgarian secular education, who created an early Bulgarian grammar textbook (1835), and a Bulgarian–Greek dictionary.
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City Museum
Not always open and without many attractions, the City Museum features local traditional costumes, ceramics and jewellery. The early-20th-century photos of old Melnik are fascinating. The museum is signposted before the Hotel Despot Slav.
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Bairakli Mosque
Near the bus station is the Bairakli Mosque, built in the 1840s. It doesn’t function, but does have some wonderfully ornate murals, and an unusually cut minaret.
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Ethnographic Museum
Beside the Samokov gate in the northeast of the monastic compound is the Ethnographic Museum, displaying regional folk costumes, textiles and crafts. Labelling is in Bulgarian only.
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Sarafska Kâshta Museum
The Sarafska Kâshta Museum, 200m north of the History Museum, dates from 1860 and contains period furnishings.
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Sveti Georgi Church
The Sveti Georgi Church, built in 1861, is Sandanski’s only surviving National Revival–era church.
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Rila Monastery
Bulgaria's most famous monastery is set in a towering forested valley. The 300 monk cells span four levels of colourful balconies, overlooking a large misshapen courtyard, while the Nativity Church, built in the 1830s, contains 1200 magnificent murals.
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