Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Great Day Trip: The Village of Koprivshtitsa
The most popular day trip from Sofia is Rila Monastery (p. 88) but an equally
rewarding destination lies 110km (68 miles) east from Sofia (just over 100
min. by car): the architectural museum town Koprivshtitsa, one of Bul-
garia's most beautiful villages, with almost 400 superb examples of the
National Revival building style that swept through the country in the 19th
century. Then populated with merchants and tax collectors who imported
many of the artisans from Plovdiv to build homes that signified their
wealth, tiny Koprivshtitsa also birthed a few of the key revolutionaries who,
tired of the living under the corrupt Ottoman Empire, staged the April
Uprising of 1876—a rebellion that was brutally squashed but signaled to
the rest of Bulgaria, and the Russians, that the country was ready to liber-
ate itself from the “Yoke of Oppression.”
slightly dull and badly labeled “Third Bulgarian Kingdom 1878-1946” in Hall 5, and
various temporary exhibitions in the remainder—while the carpets and embroidery,
showing where elements of the orient start to appear, are very skilled, these are some-
how less riveting, though this response may have more to do with sensory overload. If
you're pushed for time, head straight for Hall 2 to view the Thracian-era rhytons,
armory, and jewelry—the biggest display outside of Varna's Archaeological Museum,
then take a look in Hall 3, if only to admire its magnificent ceiling and incredible views
of the overgrown yet stylized gardens that flow into the mountain wilderness.
16 Vitoshko Lale St., Boyana (10km/6 1 4 miles south of town near the ring road/ Okolovrusten put); 20-min. from city
or 40-min. journey on trolleybus no. 2. & 02/955 7604. www.historymuseum.org. 10lev/$6.50/£3.45. Tours
20lev/$13/£6.90. Daily 9:30am-5:30pm.
Boyana Church It's an unassuming 11th- and 13th-century building sur-
rounded by lush vegetation, but Boyana Church evokes a great deal of awe in art his-
torians who struggle to explain how realistic aspects such as the three-dimensional
facial expressions in the frescoes that cover the interior came to be painted during the
13th century, as this innovation was only ushered in by Italian Renaissance painters
over a century later. It's an easy visit, and one of the most tourist-friendly in Bulgaria.
Upon payment you are provided with an intelligent English-speaking guide who will
accompany you into the church and point out the emotive profiles and movements,
and the introduction of realism into the choice of latter-day fashion and fabrics; the
guide will also identify the models, including Kalogen and his wife, Desislava, the
Sofia landlord and patron who commissioned the building of the 13th-century exten-
sion. With any luck you'll be the only person in the church, as tour groups make for
a claustrophobic experience. While it is obviously of great historic interest (and the
overgrown gardens with their Roman ruins lovely), it's worth noting that this
UNESCO-listed site may leave those not fascinated by art history a little cold. The
church has, after all, not functioned as such since 1954.
1-3 Boyansko ezero St. (20 min. from the city center, or hour-plus journey on tram 9 to Hladilnika followed by bus
64 to Boyana). & 02/959 0939. 15lev ($10/£5.20). Daily 9:30am-5:30pm.
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