Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
Discovered in 1944.

The geographical center of Bulgaria - between the Stara Planina and Sredna Gora mountains - is known as the Rose Valley. For centuries the fragrant Bulgarian rose has been grown there and the attar of roses is extracted fro the production of rose oil. There, 40 years ago, in the town of Kazanluk a small Thracian Tomb was found, with murals which are of exceptional interest in the world's cultural heritage.

The settlements in the Rose Valley date from ancient times. A Neolithic settlement (5,000 - 4,000 B.C.) was found in the western area of Kazanluk. The excavations revealed that the settlement had existed during the Stone-Copper Age and during the first half of the Bronze Age ( 4,000 - 3,000 B.C.).

The next settlers in the Rose Valley were the Thracians. Their way of life and knowledge were based on the conditions and prerequisites established by their predecessors.

The numerous burial mounds in the Kazanluk area (more than 500), together with the remains of Thracian settlements - including Seuthopolis, the only Thracian city that has been completely excavated, preserved and researched, show that the area was inhabited by a large Thracian population, which reached the height of its cultural development during the 5 th - 3rd Centuries B.C.

Seuthopolis was founded by the Thracian King Seuth III at the end of the 4th Century B.C. The city was fortified, with a lay-out based on the principles of the Greek polis. Monumental works of Thracian architecture have been found in Seuthopolis: the palace-temple, with interiors decorated with murals and the temples of Dionysius and the Great Thracian Gods. Seven tombs made of brick were discovered in the necropolis and four of them are of the beehive type. The use of brickwork in the making of tombs is typical for the area of Seuthopolis - nowhere else in Trace were bricks used so widely in building. Recently, two more tombs with murals were discovered in the area - at the town of Muglizh and the village of Krun near Kazanluk. The murals in the palace in Seuthopolis as ,well a preferred and widely used element of interior decoration of tombs, traditions which reached their perfection in the Kazanluk Tomb.

THE BOYANA CHURCH

During the Middle Ages the strong Bulgarian fortress of Boyana (Batil) stood on the lower slopes of Mount Vitosha in what is now the Sofia suburb of Boyana. This name is mentioned for the firs time in 969. Boyana was one of the thirty-five fortresses and settlements, which formed the fortification systems of the city of Sredets (Sofia). The Boyana Church was build within the fortress and is a magnificent example of medieval architecture and monumental art.

The Boyana Church is about 900 years old. During its existence, the Church has undergone many transformation and extensions, and thus its present complex volume differs considerably from the original. New buildings have been added to the First (East) Church, architectural transformations have been made, the decoration has been changed. At present the Boyana Church consists buildings - from the 11th, 13th and 19th centuries. Only the first two churches, built during the Middle Ages, possess significant aesthetic and architectural value.

IVANOVO ROCK MONASTIRY

Located on almost a cosmic landscape - rock massifs, enveloping the picturesque river valley near the city of Rousse. As if striving to be closer to God, hermit monks settled here during the 11th - 14th century, digging cells, churches and chapels into the rocks. Talented artists painted them with realistic frescos, exquisite in colour and composition, and turned them into a treasure trove of Bulgarian mediaeval painting.

NESSEBUR

In 1983 Nessebur was put on the UNESCO List of World Cultural Monuments. Systematic archaeological studies, reinforcement, restoration and conservation have preserved the material traces of history more than anywhere else. You feel as if you are on the borderline with another world. The small peninsula is a meeting place of bygone times. The millennia of uninterrupted human occupation (the earliest traces of human settlement date back to over 3000 years ago) have produced an impressive cultural layer which is as thick as 6 meters in some places.

THE MADARA HORSEMAN

One of the most difficult artistic tasks is to synthesize a great idea, a message to contemporary and future generations. Such was the task of the sculptor who created the rock relief known as the Madara Horseman. He performed his work splendidly. The sculptor carved a relief of a majestic horseman 23 m above ground level in an almost vertical hundred-metre high cliff. The horseman is thrusting a spear into a lion lying at his horse's feet. A dog runs after the horseman.

The Madara Horseman was carved at the very beginning of the 8 th Century, about three decades after the foundation of the Bulgarian State (681). The sculpture marks a triumph – the Byzantine Empire had recognized the new state. Furthermore, the Madara horseman marks a new epoch, the beginning of the new European world. Even today the horseman remains unique - nothing like it has ever been made.

The work of the unknown sculptor is indeed magnificent. The horseman on the rock inspires admiration and excitement even today - thirteen centuries after its creation.

The profound historical meaning of the relief is further clarified by the inscriptions around the figures. These inscriptions were made in three consecutive stages and are related to important events. They are the earliest proto-Bulgarian inscriptions, the earliest written data on Bulgarian history.

The Madara Plateau is located in the Danube plain; it rises gradually up to its highest point and then suddenly drops like a stone waterfall to fertile fields. The rock cliff is one hundred metres high. The surface of the soft sandstone is furrowed by the stratification of numerous millenia. The hidden tensions have cracked the surface. The wind and rain lash at it.

Low down, in the crevices and small caves, man lived in prehistoric times. In antiquity the Thracian tribes inhabited the plain. There was an ancient Thracian sanctuary in the large open cave under the rocks, which is known today as the Nymphs' Cave. Succulent plants and trickles of water fill this place with the natural juices of life respected by the Thracians and inhabited by their gods.

"SREBARNA" NATURE RESERVAT

Srebarna Lake is located on the Danube flood plain, 19km west of the town of Silistra. The area was declared a wildfowl refuge in 1942 and established as a nature reserve in 1948.

Srebarna is the only natural tract of land of any considerable extent to be protected in north-eastern Bulgaria, a floristic region of the Ukraine-Kazakh biotic province. Plants include the reed community Phragmites communis which occupies two thirds of the reserve and forms a thick barrier around the lake, water lily Nymphaea alba and a number of rare marsh plants. Some 67 plant apecies can be found in Srebarna Nature Reserve, some of which are rare in Europe.

The reserve was set up primarily to protect the rich avifauna, nearly 180 bird species (half of the Bulgarian avifauna), including 80 migratory species. There are 99 breeding species, including the only Bulgarian colony of Dalmatian pelican.

PIRIN NATIONAL PARK

Difficult of access, but singulary beautiful, the Pirin Mountains have always attracted man and yet remained an enigma. A protected area of 27,400 hectares is located in the northern and central mountain part.

About 60 alpine peaks, snow-capped for most of the year, rise above 2,500 m and eternal snow glitters at the bottom of the circuses. The clean mountain waters flow into more than 176 glacier lakes. The fame of the Pirin forests, covering more than half its area, is due to the black and white fir. Some 97 different small plant varieties glow here. Almost extinct animal species such as the wild goat, wild cat and capercaillie have also found shelter in Pirin.

RILLA MONASTERY

Rila Monastery was founded in the l0th century by the Bulgarian monk St. John of Rila and was rebuilt in the l3th -l4th century. From that time are the fortress tower (1334), the bishop's throne, richly carved doors and some manuscripts, icon-paintings and church plates. In the l5th century, when Bulgaria fell to the Ottoman Turks, the monastery was abandoned for a short time but in the second half of the same century it was restored to a new life. Later it was for several times plundered and ravaged. Its thorough renovation began in the early l9th century. It was then that the residential wings and the church of the Holy Virgin were raised (1834-1837). The Rila Monastery has been listed as a world monument of culture. In it there is a well-appointed museum.

THRACIAN TOMB OF SVESHTARI

Located in a region declared an archaeological reserve, near the town of Razgrad. 2300 years ago master stonemasons erected the tomb of a Thracian king.

Perfect as architecture, it amazes both with its wealth of sculptural ornaments - the caryatides below the vault, rosettes, stylizes ox heads, garlands, colonnades, as well as the ritual of heroization painted in vibrant colours. A remarkable monument of Thracian art - the biggest sensation of ancient archaeology in the recent years.