The Madara Horseman is a unique archaeological monument located in the north-eastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara, 20km from Shumen. The monument is a global symbol of the country and has been on the UNESKO World Heritage List since 1979.
The Madara Horseman monument is а part of a large ancient complex housing very significant objects with complex cultural, religious and military purpose. On the left side of the relief is the Madara Plateau that stands at a height of 123 metres.
The Madara Horseman is an early medieval large rock relief, situated 23 metres in height above ground level in a vertical cliff face that stands 100 metres high. The monument depicted in its natural size a majestic horseman, spearing with his pike a lion that is lying at his horse’s feet, there is also a dog that is running after the horseman.
Until recently it has been believed that the whole composition symbolizes the triumph of the Bulgarian rulers who founded the Bulgarian lands and the great power of the young Bulgarian state. It must be said that there have also been many different opinions as to what the relief represents.
Along with the images of the lion and the dog that are depicted on the Madara relief, there is also a image of a snake which was connected to the most important and significant year of Bulgarian history. This was the year in which the Bulgarian state was established.
Around the figure of the horseman there are some inscriptions that are carved in Greek and containing substantial information for Bulgarian history. According to Professor Veselin Besheliev, the oldest inscription is dated from the time of Tervel (8th century AD), that’s why he believes that this was the original time when the relief was created. The Professor also said that this was the time when Tervel was proclaimed “Caesar” by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, which was the highest title after the title Emperor.
Some other sources claim that the origin of the relief is dated from the time of Bulgarian Khan Krum and Omurtag.
Most of the Madara inscriptions are part of the Old-Bulgarian stone archive of the earliest period of the Bulgarian State. The inscriptions show the rulers’ high level of culture as well as their great responsibility to the future generations as the heads of state.
Address:
Madara Horseman
Madara Village
Shumen
Bulgaria
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Showing posts with label Bulgaria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bulgaria. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Varna Archaeological Museum
The Varna Archaeological Museum is a historical and archaeological museum located in the city of Varna, Bulgaria. The museum is one of the largest in the country, hosting over 55,000 exhibitions dating from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. It’s also known as one of the best developed cultural and scientific centres in Varna.
The Archaeological Museum is situated in a beautiful building, designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by architecture Petko Momchilov and built in 1892-1898 for the Varna Girls’ School. The building was first named “Maria Luiza” which in 1945 was renamed to “D-r Petar Beron”. Nine years later, the Varna Girls’ School became a school for both girls and boys.
The very first archaeological exhibits were collected by Karel Shkorpil and Ananie Iavashov in 1887. In the same year, using all of the collected items, they held a museum in the city library. Four years later they were forced by the Ministry of Education to send the museum exhibits to Sofia for establishing a new national museum. In 1895 Karel Shkorpil held another museum collection in the Girls’ School. The first museum exposition was opened on June 11, 1906.
The Varna Archaeological Museum became a national museum in 1945.
The Museum is a two-floor building, featuring 2150 sq ft of exhibition space, a large inner courtyard, storehouses, as well as a library, an Educational Children’s Museum, a gift shop and a cafeteria.
The Archaeological Museum has very unique and extremely valuable displays from the time of the ancient Thracian Culture, the Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman periods of the region’s history. The museum also has amazing works of Slavic and Proto-Bulgarian ceramics along with the ornaments from the Middle Ages and a very rich collection of sepulchral reliefs and sacred images.
The most famous and interesting museum exhibit is the Gold of Varna, the oldest gold treasure in the world dating to an incredible 4600 to 4200 years BC. It was excavated in 1972 during construction work near the city. It contains about 2000 golden items, including necklaces, bracelets, breast ornaments and vessels. One of the greatest displays of the collection is the golden sceptre-symbol of power of the monarch. Another amazing display is the skeleton of a forty to fifty year old man who is covered with more than 100 pieces of golden jewellery. The whole exhibit occupies three separate exhibition halls.
The Archaeological Museum and its remarkable collections represent Bulgaria through many national and international exhibitions. Museum exhibitions have been established at many famous museums in France, Germany, Japan, Israel, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Visiting the Museum
The Varna Archaeological Museum is open in the summer from 10am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Sundays and in the winter from 10am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Address:
Archaeological Museum
41 Maria Luiza Bld
Varna
9000
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 681 011
Find the cheapest bookings to Varna at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo
The Archaeological Museum is situated in a beautiful building, designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by architecture Petko Momchilov and built in 1892-1898 for the Varna Girls’ School. The building was first named “Maria Luiza” which in 1945 was renamed to “D-r Petar Beron”. Nine years later, the Varna Girls’ School became a school for both girls and boys.
The very first archaeological exhibits were collected by Karel Shkorpil and Ananie Iavashov in 1887. In the same year, using all of the collected items, they held a museum in the city library. Four years later they were forced by the Ministry of Education to send the museum exhibits to Sofia for establishing a new national museum. In 1895 Karel Shkorpil held another museum collection in the Girls’ School. The first museum exposition was opened on June 11, 1906.
The Varna Archaeological Museum became a national museum in 1945.
The Museum is a two-floor building, featuring 2150 sq ft of exhibition space, a large inner courtyard, storehouses, as well as a library, an Educational Children’s Museum, a gift shop and a cafeteria.
The Archaeological Museum has very unique and extremely valuable displays from the time of the ancient Thracian Culture, the Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman periods of the region’s history. The museum also has amazing works of Slavic and Proto-Bulgarian ceramics along with the ornaments from the Middle Ages and a very rich collection of sepulchral reliefs and sacred images.
The most famous and interesting museum exhibit is the Gold of Varna, the oldest gold treasure in the world dating to an incredible 4600 to 4200 years BC. It was excavated in 1972 during construction work near the city. It contains about 2000 golden items, including necklaces, bracelets, breast ornaments and vessels. One of the greatest displays of the collection is the golden sceptre-symbol of power of the monarch. Another amazing display is the skeleton of a forty to fifty year old man who is covered with more than 100 pieces of golden jewellery. The whole exhibit occupies three separate exhibition halls.
The Archaeological Museum and its remarkable collections represent Bulgaria through many national and international exhibitions. Museum exhibitions have been established at many famous museums in France, Germany, Japan, Israel, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Visiting the Museum
The Varna Archaeological Museum is open in the summer from 10am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Sundays and in the winter from 10am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Address:
Archaeological Museum
41 Maria Luiza Bld
Varna
9000
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 681 011
Find the cheapest bookings to Varna at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Varna Sea Garden
The Varna Sea Garden is located in the city of Varna, Bulgaria within an area of 30 decares, which makes it the largest public park in the city and also the largest and best known landscape in the Balkans.
The Varna Sea garden has beautiful garden areas including the very quiet and peaceful alleys, all variety of natural green vegetation as well as the great number of significant cultural monuments. Combined this makes the Varna Sea garden worthy for consideration as one of the symbols of Varna.
In 1881 Mihail Koloni, the mayor of the city, proposed to create an urban garden which should be enclosed within the city Theatre, and the Seaside Park. In response to the mayor’s proposal, the famous archaeologist Karel Shkorpil on behalf of the Municipality invited the Czech architecture Anton Novak to join the venture.
Novak, who has become famous for building the Schoenbrunn palace as well as Belvedere palace in Vienna, responded to the invitation and started working on the project. In recognition of his work, the Varna Municipality built him a house near the entrance of the Sea Garden.
Тhat same year the decision was taken for the garden to be extended and improved. In 1908 an alley of National Revival was created. Some of the greatest Bulgarians have been immortalized with monuments in this area, people such as Hristo Botev, Vasil Levski, st.Paisii Hilendarski, Georgi Rakovski, Ljuben Karavelov, Stefan Karadja, Georgi Benkovski, Petar Beron, Vasil Aprilov and many others.
The impressive Sea Garden main entrance was designed by architecture Georgi Popov and established in 1939. The entrance hallmark is a large sundial with a portrait of a swan.
Find the cheapest bookings to Varna at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo
The Sea Garden has many interesting cultural and natural attractions, the most frequented among them are: the Naval Museum, the Aquarium, the Dolphinarium, the Summer Theatre, the Zoo, the Festival Complex.
The Naval Museum
The Naval Museum was built in the 50s and today is one of the 100th national tourist sites in Bulgaria.
The museum is open in the summer from 10am to 6pm, Monday-Saturday and in the winter from 10am to 5pm, Monday-Friday.
Address:
Naval Museum
2 Primorski Bld.
Sea Garden
Varna
Tel: +359 52 633 015
The Aquarium
The Aquarium was founded in 1932 as the first and only Marine Biological Station in Bulgaria. Here are collections of hundreds of fish species, crabs, helixes, sea-anemones, molluscs along with various inhabitants of freshwater. There is also a special place for preserving the Black Sea natural resources.
The Aquarium is open in the summer from 9am to 8pm and in the winter from 10am to 4pm, Monday-Friday.
Address:
Aquarium
4 Primorski Bld.
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 632 066
The Dolphinarium
The Dolphinarium is one of the favourite attractions for visitor to Varna. There are dolphin performances that are really remarkable and lots of shows with clowns, mimes and actors.
The Dolphinarium open at 12pm, Tuesday-Sunday.
Address:
Dolphinarium
Primorski Park
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 302 199
The Summer Theatre
The Summer Theatre hosts many different events such as the Varna Music Days, the world-famous International Ballet Competition and the Varna Summer Exhibition which is established every three years.
Address:
Summer Theatre
Varna Sea Garden
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 612 803
The Zoo
The Zoo was officially open in 1961. Its first inhabitant was the Maxim bear, who was donated by sailors from the “Georgi Dimitrov”ship. Today there are more than 72 species of animals and birds, 17 of which are found under the animal protection programme.
The zoo is open daily in the summer from 8.30am to 7.30pm and from 8.30am to 4.30pm, in the winter.
Address:
Zoo
Sea Garden
5 Saltanat Reg.
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 302 528
The Festival Complex
The Festival Complex building is located in front of the Sea Garden entrance. It has several stages and conference rooms, a bazaar, as well as a restaurant and a confectionery. This is a place where many exhibitions, opera, ballet and theatre performances are held.
Address:
Festival Complex
2 Slivnica Bld.
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 685 000
Find the cheapest bookings to Varna at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo
The Varna Sea garden has beautiful garden areas including the very quiet and peaceful alleys, all variety of natural green vegetation as well as the great number of significant cultural monuments. Combined this makes the Varna Sea garden worthy for consideration as one of the symbols of Varna.
In 1881 Mihail Koloni, the mayor of the city, proposed to create an urban garden which should be enclosed within the city Theatre, and the Seaside Park. In response to the mayor’s proposal, the famous archaeologist Karel Shkorpil on behalf of the Municipality invited the Czech architecture Anton Novak to join the venture.
Novak, who has become famous for building the Schoenbrunn palace as well as Belvedere palace in Vienna, responded to the invitation and started working on the project. In recognition of his work, the Varna Municipality built him a house near the entrance of the Sea Garden.
Тhat same year the decision was taken for the garden to be extended and improved. In 1908 an alley of National Revival was created. Some of the greatest Bulgarians have been immortalized with monuments in this area, people such as Hristo Botev, Vasil Levski, st.Paisii Hilendarski, Georgi Rakovski, Ljuben Karavelov, Stefan Karadja, Georgi Benkovski, Petar Beron, Vasil Aprilov and many others.
The impressive Sea Garden main entrance was designed by architecture Georgi Popov and established in 1939. The entrance hallmark is a large sundial with a portrait of a swan.
Find the cheapest bookings to Varna at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo
The Sea Garden has many interesting cultural and natural attractions, the most frequented among them are: the Naval Museum, the Aquarium, the Dolphinarium, the Summer Theatre, the Zoo, the Festival Complex.
The Naval Museum
The Naval Museum was built in the 50s and today is one of the 100th national tourist sites in Bulgaria.
The museum is open in the summer from 10am to 6pm, Monday-Saturday and in the winter from 10am to 5pm, Monday-Friday.
Address:
Naval Museum
2 Primorski Bld.
Sea Garden
Varna
Tel: +359 52 633 015
The Aquarium
The Aquarium was founded in 1932 as the first and only Marine Biological Station in Bulgaria. Here are collections of hundreds of fish species, crabs, helixes, sea-anemones, molluscs along with various inhabitants of freshwater. There is also a special place for preserving the Black Sea natural resources.
The Aquarium is open in the summer from 9am to 8pm and in the winter from 10am to 4pm, Monday-Friday.
Address:
Aquarium
4 Primorski Bld.
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 632 066
The Dolphinarium
The Dolphinarium is one of the favourite attractions for visitor to Varna. There are dolphin performances that are really remarkable and lots of shows with clowns, mimes and actors.
The Dolphinarium open at 12pm, Tuesday-Sunday.
Address:
Dolphinarium
Primorski Park
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 302 199
The Summer Theatre
The Summer Theatre hosts many different events such as the Varna Music Days, the world-famous International Ballet Competition and the Varna Summer Exhibition which is established every three years.
Address:
Summer Theatre
Varna Sea Garden
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 612 803
The Zoo
The Zoo was officially open in 1961. Its first inhabitant was the Maxim bear, who was donated by sailors from the “Georgi Dimitrov”ship. Today there are more than 72 species of animals and birds, 17 of which are found under the animal protection programme.
The zoo is open daily in the summer from 8.30am to 7.30pm and from 8.30am to 4.30pm, in the winter.
Address:
Zoo
Sea Garden
5 Saltanat Reg.
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 302 528
The Festival Complex
The Festival Complex building is located in front of the Sea Garden entrance. It has several stages and conference rooms, a bazaar, as well as a restaurant and a confectionery. This is a place where many exhibitions, opera, ballet and theatre performances are held.
Address:
Festival Complex
2 Slivnica Bld.
Varna
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 52 685 000
Find the cheapest bookings to Varna at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Bulgaria Air Flights from Varna
Bulgaria Air is the national flag carrier of the country Bulgaria and is a low to medium cost airline.Varna airport is Bulgaria Air’s second home with its main base being that of the airport in Sofia. Varna is the third largest city in Bulgaria and is the maritime capital of the country; it is also one of the major tourist areas during the summer months.
Varna airport is five miles from the city of Varna and sixty miles from the tourist destination of Sunny Beach. Because of its location many tourists from across Europe travel to Varna Airport through Bulgaria Air on their way to their summer destination of Sunny Beach or the city of Varna itself.
Bulgaria Air travels to five destinations from Varna Airport, these destinations are Berlin (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands), London (United Kingdom), Frankfurt (Germany) and Vienna (Austria). This means that Bulgaria Air does not conduct any flights outside of Europe from Varna.
Bulgaria Air Flights from Varna
Berlin (Tegel ) – Once a day indirectly
Amsterdam (Schiphol) – Once a day direct, indirect flights more frequent
London Gatwick – Every day, once a day
Frankfurt International – Every day, once a day
Vienna International – Direct flights once a day, indirect flights more frequent
Bulgaria Air Flights to Varna
Berlin (Tegel ) – Once a day indirectly
Amsterdam (Schiphol) – Once a day direct, indirect flights more frequent
London Gatwick – Every day, once a day
Frankfurt International – Every day, once a day
Vienna International – Direct flights once a day, indirect flights more frequent
Why not find some low cost Bulgaria Air flights to Varna today at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo
Friday, 31 July 2009
Plovdiv Travel Guide
Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia and is one of the oldest cities in Europe, even older than Constantinople and Rome.Because of its geographical location not far from the Bulgarian border with Turkey Plovdiv is a place where west and east meet giving it a unique and interesting view of times of old. In ancient times the city was a major stop of the trade routes from Persia to central Europe and has been a city of interest ever since.
History
In the years before Christ Plovdiv was a major settlement for the Thracians, this was until the time of Philip of Macedon II who took Plovdiv and named the city Philippoupolis (city of Philip).
Later on the city became one of the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire and was rename Trimontium meaning the city of three hills, although there are more than three hills in the city.
Because of its rich history the city has become a place of much interest and benefits visitors with a wonderful array of historical monuments and sites to visit.
Sights
Plovdiv Roman Theatre – Unearthed by a landslide in 1970 the Roman theatre is the best preserved in the Balkans. The theatre held around 7,000 citizens when it was built in the second century AD under the rule of Trajan the Roman Emperor.Plovdiv Roman Stadium – With a capacity of 30,000 and at over one hundred and eighty metres in length the Roman Stadium of Plovdiv is a magnificent reminder of Plovdiv’s Roman past. The stadium is only partially uncovered with the majority lying under the main street of Plovdiv city centre.
National Revival – In the old town of the city there are many beautiful nineteenth century houses built in the renaissance style that are majestic to look at and really take one back in time to when Bulgaria became independent from Ottoman Rule.
City Garden – B the centre square of the city is the wonderful city gardens that are beautifully cultivated and provide a tranquil and serene place for tourists and the people of Plovdiv to enjoy.
Further to the above there are hundreds of Roman ruins dotted around the city that you can view at your pleasure, there are also many wonderful Orthodox Churches and Islamic Mosques to see and a number of different museums.
Retaurants and Shops
There are many amazing restaurants in the centre of Plovdiv all serving regional food from the Balkans such as Banitza, Shopska salad and Sarmi.
One of the favourites to visit are Dreams during the day which is on the main street by the City Gardens, here you can indulge in cakes, coffee, sandwiches’ and other meals while basking in the sun and watching the world walk by. Another favourite is Happy Bar Grill where you can sit inside and sample all the delicacies of Bulgaria from salads to Meze and hot meals all washed down with the beverage of your choice.
Plovdiv has many small boutiques selling a range of clothes, cosmetics and other products as well as having two small shopping malls. The shopping malls offer everything from sports clothing to regional souvenirs and jewellery.
Nightlife
At night the city comes alive with activity as the many bars, clubs and casinos light up enticing everyone to visit. Some of the great places in the centre include bar nonsense where you can enjoy beer and shots in an informal setting or the more upmarket cocktails bars where you can sample many handmade cocktails to great music.
Hotels
Novotel Hotel
Sankt Peterburg Hotel
Dedeman Trimontium
Alliance hotel
Gabi Hotel
Noviz Hotel
Dafi hotel New
Apart Complex
Avion hotel
Belle Ville Hotel
Best Western Hotel Bulgaria
Bright House
Business Hotel Plovdiv
Ego Hotel
Elite Hotel
Expo Hotel
Famous House Hotel
Hebros hotel
Kendros Hotel
Leipzig Hotel
Metropol Hotel
Nord Hotel
Noris Hotel
Odeon Hotel
Park Hotel Imperial
Real Hotel
Rodopi Hotel
Romantica Hotel
Russalka Hotel
Seven Hills Hotel
Interested in visiting Plovdiv? Why not try to find a deal today at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute
Friday, 24 July 2009
Dedeman Trimontium Princess Plovdiv
Trimontium PrincessAddress:
2, Kaptain Raycho St
Plovdiv,
4000,
Bulgaria
Tel: 032 605000
Location:
The Trimontium Princess is located in the heart of Plovdiv city centre. Situated in the centre square of the city it is a prime location for any visitor to use as a base for exploration of this beautiful and ancient city.
Right outside the doors of the hotel you will find Roman ruins (there are 200 archeological sites to investigate), amazing city gardens, clothing bazaars and a great mix of different shops.
For those who wish to find a taste of Bulgaria there are also a great deal of restaurants and bars within a short walking distance such as the well known Dreams cafe.
Hotel:
Spacious and luxurious rooms await visitors to the Trimontium Hotel, bathrooms are even available with Jacuzzi tubs where one can unwind after a days walking in the city.
The full listing of hotel rooms are as follows:
121 Standard twin rooms
21 French bed rooms
12 Jacuzzi room
3 Suits
1 Presidential suite
The Trimontium offers a large restaurant offering a wide variety of international cuisine, an Irish steak house, ambassador roof restaurant, three bars, a gym, swimming pool, sauna and Casino.
Pricing:
The Trimontium Princess average room prices per night are around 151 USD or 92 GBP
Booking:
Find the best bookings at Expedia | Travelocity | Hotelopia
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