Fifteen sights in Bulgaria

Perperikon

In South-Eastern Bulgaria is one of the biggest and most ancient fortresses in Europe towers. A stone city, that has survived for almost 6500 years, with its houses, streets, water storage basins and ruler’s palace.Nowadays, it is only a carved rock in the sacred for the ancient people Rodopi Mountain, but still keeps the mysterious name of Perperikon.

Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak

 The tomb is part of a large Thracian necropolis. It comprises a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast. The monument dates back to the 4th century BOT and has been on the UNESCO protected World Heritage Site list since 1979. The paintings are Bulgaria's best-preserved artistic masterpiecesfrom the Hellenistic period.

Great Basilica, Pliska

The Great Basilica of Pliska is an architectural complex in Pliska, the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire (7th–9th century), which includes acathedral, an archbishop's palace and a monastery. Completed around 875, the basilica was the largest Christian cathedral in medieval Southeastern Europe outside Constantinople, with an area of 2,920 square metres 

Madara horseman and fortress

In the middle of a sheer cliff in the Еastern end of the Balkan Mountain Range is the oldest stone relief in Europe – the Madara Horseman was carved. It is one of the most enigmatic monuments in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.The scholars consider it’s been made about 1300 years ago, in the early 8th century.

Within 20 km from Madara Fortress, on top of another high plateau, the medieval stronghold - Shumen Fortress is situated. People settled here about 6000 years ago and the first fortification was built during the Trojan War. The city-fortress flowered in the Middle Ages. There was even a mint. The legend has it that Bulgarian kings had one of their residence palaces here and somewhere in its basement the royal treasure was hidden. It hasn’t been found since…Hundreds of houses and churches, resting in ruins, behind the thick fortress walls, form an enigmatic labyrinth. 

Samuil’s FortressSamuil’s Fortress is one of the most important medieval castles, preserved to this day the Bulgarian lands. Samuil's Fortress has great historical significance, mostly because of the key events and turning points of history of Bulgaria, which originated in the lands around it.Samuil's Fortress Today is the emblem of the historic grandeur of the former Bulgarian state, but simultaneously it is a great reminder of the tragedy that happened here in 1014.

NesebarNessebar is the historic treasury of Bulgaria and in 1956 it was declared and recognized as museum city – archaeological and architectural reservation. Valuable monuments from all stages of its long existence are preserved here: remnants of fortress walls from Roman times and the Middle Ages, old Byzantine and Bulgarian churches, antique 18th and 19th century houses. The greatest treasure of the town are the numerous churches. 

Rogozen Treasure

The treasure now consists of 165 containers, all made of silver, 131 of them with golden decorations.This is the biggest treasure ever found in Bulgaria. Inscriptions on some of the items show they belonged to a Thracian king. Historians believe they have found one almost complete royal set that was hidden in the ground.

Balchik Palace

In 1940, after the reincoporation of Southern Dobruja in Bulgaria with the Treaty of Craiova, the Balchik Botanical Garden was established at the place of the palace's park. One of the garden's main attractions is the collection of large-sized cactus species arranged outdoors on 1000 m², the second of its kind in Europe after the one in Monaco. Other notable species include the Metasequoia, the Para rubber tree and the Ginkgo.

The Rila Monastery   While the monastery has been existing, it was many times rebuilt, destroyed and reconstructed. It is the biggest and the most respected Bulgarian monastery. The monastery is a complex of cultural, dwelling and farming buildings which take about 8800 square meters. The Rila Monastery has an unique architecture. Outside, the monastery looks like a fortress. It has 24-meter stone walls which forms irregular pentagon.

Veliko Tarnovo

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.. 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.

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral  is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It’s one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world, as well as one of Sofia's symbolsThere is a museum of Bulgarian icons inside the cathedral crypt, part of the National Art Gallery. The church claims that the museum contains the largest collection of Orthodox icons in Europe.

MelnikThe unique architecture of Melnik and the nearby Rozhen Monastery make it a popular tourist destination. The town is also associated with the impressive natural sand pyramids in various forms, resembling giant mushrooms, ancient towers  and obelisks, spread in an area of 17 km² near Melnik, Kurlanovo and Rozhen. The town has also been famous for producing a strong wine since at least 1346. The local wine was reportedly a favourite of  Winston Churchill's.

Belogradchik Rocks

The Belogradchik Rocks is one of the most famous and most impressive nature phenomenon in Bulgaria.They are a group of bizarre sandstone and limestone rock formations with different and amazing shapes, reaching up to 200 m in height. The most characteristic peculiarity of the Belogradchik Fortress is the perfect inclusion of the unapproachable rocks in the whole fortress system. Three construction periods can be seen in the buildings –Roman and Byzantine , Byzantine and Bulgarian and Turkish.

Seven Rila lakes

The Seven Rila Lakes  are a group of lakes of glacial origin (glacial lakes), situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains inBulgaria. The lakes are situated between 2,100 and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level.The lakes are located one above the other and are connected by small streams, which form tiny waterfalls and cascades. You can find tourist accommodation in the lakes' vicinity. It lies on the northeastern shore of The Fish Lake, at an elevation of 2,196 m

Ledenica caveIts name, Ledenika, comes from the icy stalagmites, stalactites and columns, which are formed during the winter at the beginning of the cave near the entrance. There is a small, shallow sinter lake, which according to a belief fulfills the desire of everyone who puts their hand in it. 53 species live inside it, among which is the insect Light-hater, which has adapted so well to the darkness, that if it goes out in the light, it dies.

Created bySimona Ivanova - 10th grade

Joan Ekzarh Language SchoolVratsa, 2012