The Thracian Tomb in Sveshtari /Sboryanovo/

One of the main centers of the political and religious life of the ancient Thracians has been the present-day archaeological reserve Sboryanovo. In the Ancient Times the site is known under the name of Dausava and is described by Ptolemy as a settlement of the Geti tribe. In translation the town's name means "town of the wolves". Here has been the residence of Dromihet - a Geti ruler.

In the complex there are 108 mounds, located as a reflective imaging of the constellations the Plough and the Hair of Berenika. Within the limits of this complex is located the Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari. The first archaeological materials are found in 1930 and the excavations begin later in 1982. After 15 years of restoration the tomb is opened for visitors in 2000. The tomb consists of a corridor, a narthex, a central chamber and a side chamber. Its total length is 6 meters, the height is 5 meters and the width of the facade is 6,75 m. The entrance has rectangular columns at both sides. In the central burial chamber there are two stone beds. The decoration is extremely rich. The walls are decorated with statues of ten female figures. They are upright, 1,20 m high, with raised hands. The faces of the caryatids are different. Their hairs are painted in dark brown and yellow and the belts are in blue and red. The side chamber is a small one with a window looking towards the corridor.

The Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak

The tomb is discovered in 1944. The frame of the tomb consists of a brick burial chamber with a bell-shaped dome of 3,25 m height and 2,65 m diameter of the foundation and a diameter of the truncated top of 0,47 m. The entrance of the tomb is a rectangular door, formed of huge hewn stone blocks, which passes into a brick tunnel leading to the burial chamber. The corridor has a rectangular shape of 1,95 m length, 1,12 m width and a height of 2,24 m. The whole brick frame of the tomb is covered with a stone lining of chiseled stones fixed with clay.

The tomb is world famous for its murals. The walls of the corridor and the chamber are covered with white smooth plaster over which there is a picturesque decoration occupying an area of 40 m². The central part of the murals is taken by a human figure. There are also plant and architectural ornaments in the murals. Four are the main colours of the murals - white, black, red and yellow and a rich range of their shades.

The region around the town of Kazanlak has been part of the Odrysian State. In 1947 the scientists discover the town of Sevtopolis, built by the Thracian ruler Sevt III at the end of IV c. B.C. Sevtopolis has been a well-defended town with a temple-palace, a temple of Dionysius and a temple of the Great Thracian Gods.

The Madara horseman

It is located in Northeastern Bulgaria at a distance of 20 km from the town of Shumen. Hewn at a steep rock of 100 m height the relief is located at a distance of 75 m from the foundation of a vertical rock. In a natural size are depicted a horseman heading to the right, a flying eagle in front of him, a jumping dog following the horseman and a pierced with a spear lion at the front legs of the horse. Around the figure there are inscriptions in Greek with important information about the Bulgarian history and its khans. The total area of the composition, together with the inscriptions is 40 m².The monument is in a close proximity to one of the most important pre-Bulgarian heretic sanctuaries of the time. The clothes of the horseman, the form of the saddle and the stirrup relate the relief to the art of the pre-Bulgarians from which tribe are the monarchs of Bulgaria at that time. Some specialists think that the predecessors of such monuments should be looked for in Persia. The monument is dated from the beginning of VIII c. which supports the most acknowledged thesis for the pre-Bulgarian origin of the relief and relates it to the ruler of the time - khan Tervel (701-721).

In the early Middle Ages the images of horsemen or horses are often met on metal vessels, painted on ceramic tiles and cast as amulets.

The Boyana Church

The church is located in the capital of Bulgaria -Sofia. There can be discerned three construction stages of the church:

• The first stage -end of X c. -the beginning of XI c.
• The second stage - the middle of the XIII c.
• The third stage - during the XIX c.

The Boyana Church owes its fame to its murals from 1259 which represent the remarkable achievements of the Bulgarian medieval culture. The 240 images are characteristic in their individuality and vitality. The icon painting follows the regulations for painting a Christian temple postulated by the Seventh Universal Ecclesiastical Synod from 787 in Nikkei. The murals have characteristic artistic technique of performance, complexity and realism. According to world-famous specialists the murals of the Boyana Church are of great importance for the development of the Bulgarian and European painting.

The Ivanovo Rocky Monastery

The rocky monastery lies at a distance of 12 km south of Russe.

120 million years ago nature has created a unique rocky complex in the high banks of the canyon-shaped Rusenski Lom River. Under the influence of the wind and the tectonic movements the river has created picturesque gorges for a period of million years. The Ivanovo rocky monastery is located in the rocky banks of the canyon-shaped valley. It is completely different from the traditional monastery complexes.

The Ivanovo Rocky Monastery is a network of small rocky churches, chapels and cells dug into the rocks. They are at a height of 32 m above the level of the water. The caves have been populated by monks in the period from XIII c. until XVII c. At the time of its zenith the religious complex has had 40 rocky churches and about 300 other chambers.

The Ivanovo monastery is famous for its cultural historic value of the mural frescoes dating from XIII c. and XIV c. preserved in 5 of the rocky churches. Talented artists have painted realistic murals, rich in colours and compositions. The walls have various ancient motives - naked women statues, columns over lions, masks. The main church in the Ivanovo complex is the church of the Holy Virgin. In it the visitors can see the portrait of the Bulgarian king Ivan Alexander.

The Rila Monastery

The Rila Monastery is situated in Rila Mountains at a height of 1147 meters. It is the biggest tourist attraction among the monasteries in Bulgaria because of the beautiful nature around it, its architecture, murals and history. The monastery is founded by the hermit-monk Ivan Rilski in X c. at the time of the reign of King Peter (927-968). Saint Ivan Rilski has lived in a cave at a distance of half an hour on foot from the present-day complex. His mummified relics are displayed for worship in the main church. The monastery has been respected by all the Bulgarian kings. Their official support helps the monastery to become a cultural and spiritual centre. The monastery reaches its zenith in XII-XIV c. After the fall of Bulgaria under the Ottoman yoke the monastery is plundered and destroyed several times. The monastery gets its present-day outlook in XIX c. The monastery has the shape of an irregular square. In the middle of the internal yard stands the oldest building in the complex - the stone tower, built in 1334-1335. Immediately next to it there is a small church from 1343. The rest of the monastery is built in 1834-1837. The murals and the wood carvings of the iconostasis are incredible. Another masterpiece is Raphael's Cross. It is named after its creator and is made of a piece of wood with a size of 81 x 43 cm. On the cross are carved 104 religious scenes and 650 small figures. The monk works over the cross for 12 years and stops work in 1802 when he looses his sight. The monk has used fine chisels, small carving knives and magnifying lenses.

The whole complex of the Rila monastery is impressive. The four-floor housing building consists of 300 monk's cells, 4 chapels, a kitchen, a library, the abbot's room and a room for donors.

The Old Nessebar

The old town is one of the most ancient towns in Europe. It is located on a small rocky peninsula in the Burgas Bay. It is proclaimed for an archaeological reserve in 1956 and in 1983 is included in the NESCO Cultural Heritage List. The present-day Nessebar is the successor of the Thracian settlement of Mesabria, established in the second millennia before Christ. In 510 B.C. the town is transformed into a colony-town of Greek settlers from Kalhidon, Byzantion and Megara and is given the name of Mesemvria and is a rival to Apolonia in the trade along the Black Sea coast. In the town there has been a theatre and a temple of God Apollonius. Silver and bronze coins have been minted in Mesabria and later in the third millennia B.C. gold coins have also been minted. In 72 B.C. the town is occupied by a Roman Garrison and during the Roman epoch is of secondary importance. It begins to play an important role in III c. and IV c. in the Eastern Roman Empire with Constantinople as a capital. The town becomes a centre of a bishopric and a fortified marine base of Byzantium. The oldest churches in Nessebar are from that Byzantine period. In 812 the Bulgarian khan Krum conquers the town. During the Middle Ages the town changes its belonging from Bulgaria to Byzantium several times. From IX c. together with the name of Mesemvria people begin to use the Slavic name Mesebar or Nessebar. In 1371 the town falls under the Ottoman yoke and its fortified walls are destroyed. However, the town preserves its importance as a port town. Many ships are built, grains and wooden material are exported. The remains of an ancient fortress and a gate date from III-IV c., the old Nessebar churches are from V-VI c. and the later ones from the medieval period of X-XIV c. are fine examples of the medieval Bulgarian-Byzantine architecture.

The Srebarna Reserve

The season migratory way of birds called Via Pontika passes over Northeastern Bulgaria. Important stops of this way are the lake Srebarna, Shabla and Durankulak.

The lake Srebarna lies at a distance of 17 km west of the town of Silistra near the Danube River. It has a protected guarded area of 600 hectares and a buffer zone of 540 hectares. The depth of the lake varies between 1 and 3 meters. Here nest about 100 species of birds and over 200 species fly over the area or stop to feed here. The region around Lake Srebarna is the habitat of 44 species of mammals, 23 species of fish, 10 types of amphibians, 11 types of reptiles and more than 300 higher plants. Here is the only one for Bulgaria colony of curly-headed pelicans.

Srebarna is proclaimed for a reserve in 1948 and in 1983 the lake is included in the UNESCO Cultural and Natural Heritage List.

The Pirin Natural Park

At their settlement over the Balkan Peninsula the Slavs compare the mountain with their god Perun and name it after him - Pirin. The park occupies an area of 40 332 hectares. It is state owned. On the territory of the park there are two natural reserves - Bayuvi Dupki and Yulen. Pirin is one of the most interesting mountains because of the big altitude and the diversified relief which is favourable for the development of a varied plant and animal life. In the park there are about 1 300 types of higher plants, 300 types of lichens and a great variety of algae. There are about18 local, 15 Bulgarian and many Balkan endemites/ species typical only for the geographical region/. The symbol of Pirin Mountains is the edelweiss.

On the territory of the mountain there are three vegetation zones - forest, sub-Alpine and Alpine. The forests in the forest zone are mainly of beech, fir, spruce, white and black pine. Typical representatives of the sub-Alpine zone are the dwarf pine and the Siberian juniper and a great variety of grass types. In this zone there are many lakes and brooks which are favourable for the growth of algae. The Alpine vegetation zone is covered with grass types and rocky cover.

There are about 2 090 species and sub-species of invertebrates of which 300 rare species, 214 endemites, 175 relic species and 15 species included in the international lists of endangered species.

Until the present moment there have been discovered 6 species of fish which accounts for 6 % of all the freshwater fish in Bulgaria. Of special interest among them are the bow trout, the mountainous grey mullet, and the common eel. The amphibian reptiles are represented by 19 species of which 8 amphibian and 11 reptiles. There are about 160 species of birds which can be seen on the territory of the park. From the mammals there are 45 land species and 12 species of bats.

Due to its uniqueness the Pirin Natural Park is included in the UNESCO Cultural and Natural Heritage List in 1983.

The following cultural-historic sites are not included in the UNESCO List. However, the authors of this webpage consider them equal in importance to the above mentioned sites and hope that they will also be valued and included in the UNESCO list.

The rocky sanctuary of Perperikon

Perperikon (Hiperperakion, Perperakion) is located in the eastern Rhodope Mountains at a distance of 15 km from the district town of Kardzhali. Perperkon is situated on a rocky hill with a height of 470 m. Along it flows the Perpereshka River, forming a valley of 10m length and 4 m width. The valley and the climate have created favourable living conditions since ancient times.

Millennia ago Perperikon has been a huge rocky massif without no vegetation on it. This has attracted the people who deified the grandiose rocks. According to archaeological research the earliest traces of life date from the New Stone Age. During XVIII-XII c. B. C. Perperikon has its first zenith. This is the period of the Crete-Mycenaean civilization. At the end of the Bronze Age Perperikon has already been a big rocky cult complex. Perperikon consists of four parts:

• A powerful fortress - with 2,80m thick walls. The walls are made without any connecting material. The two faces of the fortified walls are formed by massive stone blocks with filling of crushed stones fitting perfectly in the holes between the stones. The wall is built over the sound foundation of the rocks.
• The Acropolis is located at the highest part of the hill. It has been built up with many temples and civil buildings.
• The palace -sanctuary - located immediately under the Acropolis.
• The northern and southern suburbs with hewn in the rocks housing buildings and temples. All the buildings of Perperikon impress with their perfect construction. The walls are smoothened with fine chisels forming an ideal vertical line.

The ancient Greek legends tell about the sanctuary of Dionysius in the Sacred Mountain - The Rhodopes. The Greek historian Herodotus and the Roman historian Sevtonius Tranquil give the main information about it. In his description of the temple of Dionysius Herodotus pays a special attention to the oracle in it, which has been equal to the fortune teller of Delphi. The sanctuary has been located in a big oval hall with no roof, which was necessary because of the nature of the rituals performed inside. According to the scientists there have been made at least two important prophecies for the humanity - the one for Alexander the Macedonian and the other for Julius Caesar.

The excavation and the research of Perperikon continue and the hypothesis for the sacred temple of Dionysius may be soon confirmed.

Starosel

The monument is discovered in 2000. Starosel is the greatest and most grandiose Thracian temple from the end of V and the beginning of IV c. B. C. The temple is located at the Oreshaka site on the territory of the municipality of Hissar at a distance of ...km from Plovdiv. The necropolis consists of 8 mounds of different sizes.

The temple is located in a mound of 20m height and a diameter of 85 m. It is engirdled with an impressive fence of 241 m length and preserved height of 3 m. The entrance of the sanctuary is 1,60 m wide with a decoration known as "wolf's fangs". The entrance is formed of tiles of plastic and floral decoration. The temple consists of a southern parade staircase, two side staircases, a corridor, precisely made façade, a rectangular and a square chamber with a dome roof with a diameter of 5,30m. The temple is built of well formed stone blocks fixed together with iron fangs glued with melted lead.

The temple is a key point of a big cult centre of many rocky sanctuaries and dozens of mounds. Until the moment have been discovered 8 mounds. In two of them there are smaller temples used as tomb-mausoleums.