4 Historic Towns in
4 Days around Bulgaria

More about Rila Monastery

The Rila Monastery is huddled in the initial folds of the Rila mountain. Its history began centuries ago, with its founding in the tenth century. Later more buildings were added in different periods and formed the monastery complex. UNESCO distinguished the Rila Monastery by including it in the list of its precious world heritage sites, not only on account of its long history and valuable frescoes, but also because it has always been a center for education and literature. In the Revival period a school was organized in the monastery, and eminent Bulgarians have visited it in different periods.

In the end of the 18th century a fire razed the monastery grounds, but several years later the complex was restored. Another fire devastated the complex years later, and again it was restored.

Nowadays the Rila Monastery covers 8,800 square meters, with the buildings framing the yard in an irregular pentagon shape.

More about Plovdiv

Plovdiv welcomes as a city steeped in history and with a plenitude of sites demonstrating Bulgarian customs and traditions and also modern life. Its history spans millennia, and the period of the Roman empire left vestiges that testify to its past importance. The Romans appreciated the auspicious location of the settlement and built solid paved roads, temples, baths. The excavations in the modern city part reveal just a modicum of its glorious past.

The Assumption of the Holy Mother cathedral is imposing. Legend tells of a beautiful temple that stood in the location of the present cathedral far back in the 9-10 centuries. The Archeological Museum is located in a building dating to late part of the 19th century. The archeological wealth of the whole ancient Thrace is gathered there. The Ethnographic Museum unfolds to visitors with the life of local people, trades and crafts, national clothing, and even musical instruments.

More about Melnik

The tiniest town, Melnik, is a pearl in the southwest Bulgaria. The proximity of Pirin is guarantee of picturesqueness, because the mountain is famed for its stern and grand mountain beauty. The altitude of the locality where Melnik lies is 437 meters. With its transient climate, passing into Mediterranean mildness, it offers comfort, with minimal rains in summer, and maximal precipitations in winter. Fans of mountain chalets have ample choices. Melnik is the starting point for trails to the Pirin chalet and the Malina chalet.

The Rozhen monastery is near Melnik, not far even when going on foot. On the way to the monastery the curious Melnik Pyramids captivate with their uniqueness. These mounds of sandstone, rising to up to 100 meters, are unlike any other formations. But in Melnik itself there is plenty to marvel at: fascinating old style houses and opportunities to learn about wine making, a strong trade there.

More about Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Turnovo has gathered centuries of history and despite its small size, with a population of just about 69,000 people, it attracts lots of enthusiastic tourists because of its numerous and precious sights which lend it a unique atmosphere. There are a number of churches, among which the Saints Forty Martyrs, a renovated church by the Yantra, enjoys lots of visitors. On the way to it visitors can go into the Tsarevets fortress, marvel at the complex built to revive past periods,  and show the grandeur of old times, and also see the remains of the Baldwin Tower where, according to legend, the captured Latin emperor Baldwin died.

The town’s guardian is Saint Patriarch Euthymius, a Bulgarian patriarch whose statue can be seen rising near the building of the University, on the Sveta Gora hill. The university, named after the Saints Cyril and Methodius, is the second largest Bulgarian university.

More about Koprivshtitsa

Koprivshtitsa is in the Sofia region, famed as a mountainous town with specific architecture. The Topolnitsa river flows past it, forming a picturesque valley. The altitude is 1061 meters. Winters are cold but abound in sun. The snow cover is thick. Summers are cool owing to the northern flow along the Topolnitsa valley.

In the past, cattle breeding and crafts were the livelihoods. Men frequently went abroad to search for work too. The work available in the locality was scarce.

Because the architecture of the houses is unique local art, there are six museum houses which preserve the unique style and house local customs. The writer Lyuben Karavelov’s house, the poet Dimcho Debelyanov’s house, traders’ houses etc. form the bunch of museums. The cathedral church is called Assumption. The artisans’ street is curious and colorful. The stone bridge on which the first gun was fired of the April Uprising, attracts history fans.