Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
school. Built in 1836, it's now been fully restored and houses the
Tryavna Museum
School of Painting
( 2039, 2517; adult/student 2/1 lv; 9am-7pm)
. Also overlooking
the square is the slate-roofed
Church of Sveti Arhangel Mihail
(admission 1lv)
,
Tryavna's oldest church, which is magically lit at night. Burnt down by the Turks but re-
built in 1819, it boasts intricate Tryavna School woodcarvings. Its Museum of Icons illus-
trates the history of Bulgarian icon painting.
Across the stone
Arch Bridge
(1844) is ul PR Slaveikov, one of Bulgaria's nicest
cobblestone streets. On the left-hand side is
Daskalov House
(ul Slaveikov 27; admission
3 lv; 9am-6pm)
. This walled home with garden also contains the intriguing and unique
Museum of Woodcarving & Icon Painting
, which features superb examples of the
Tryavna school of woodcarving, plus icons and antique copper implements.
Housed in a former chapel, Tryavna's second, larger
Museum of Icons
( 3753; ul
Breza 1; admission 2 lv; 9am-4.30pm summer, 10am-6pm winter)
contains more than
160 icons from the erstwhile collections of famous local families. The museum is beyond
the train line, and signposted from ul PR Slaveikov.
On ul Slaveikov, the
Slaveikov House-Museum
( 2166; ul PR Slaveikov 50; admis-
sion 2 lv; 8am-noon & 1-6pm Wed-Sun)
is dedicated to Petko Slaveikov and his son
Pencho, renowned poets who once lived here. Further down on the left is the 1830
Sum-
mer Garden Kalinchev House
( 3694; ul PR Slaveikov 45; admission 3 lv;
9am-1pm & 2-6pm Mon-Fri)
, which features a charming courtyard cafe (open 8am to
11pm) and contains, but does not exhibit, 500 works by Bulgarian artists, including
Kalinchev. More paintings, drawings and sculptures are displayed at the next-door
Ivan
Kolev House
( 3777; ul PR Slaveikov 47; admission 2 lv; 9am-1pm & 2-6pm Mon-
Fri)
.
WOODCARVING
During the Bulgarian National Revival period, Tryavna became renowned for its woodcarvings, intricately chiselled
from local walnut, birch, poplar and oak trees. Many were used to decorate monasteries in Gabrovo, Veliko
Târnovo, Arbanasi and Rila. Tryavna carvers were sought after by builders and house owners as far away as Serbia,
Turkey and modern-day Iran.
By the early 19th century more than 40 Tryavna workshops were producing wooden cradles, frames, icons,
friezes, doors and crosses, each individually designed. Ornate and detailed flower motifs became particularly associ-
