Cultural sightseeing in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is an ancient country on the territory of which in different epochs, reigned different empires. In Antiquity Bulgaria was part of the Roman Empire, then for a long time this Orthodox country was under the yoke of the Ottomans, who planted Islam as a religion. However, the Bulgarians in spite of everything, managed to preserve their culture and their sites. Today, they are distributed to different cities and are of special value for tourists as in one trip, you can visit unique ruins and buildings from the times of ancient Rome, visit temples of different faiths, look into museums devoted to socialism and the history of the state. Most of them are concentrated in the largest city - Sofia, but a lot of fascinating excursions are waiting for tourists in Varna, Plovdiv and Burgas.

One of the main museums of Sofia and the whole country is the National Historical Museum opened in 1973. In its collection are more than 650 thousand of all kinds of exhibits, belonging to a variety of epochs: from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. Visitors to the museum will be able to get acquainted with archaeological findings, coins, objects of everyday life and interiors, antique furniture, maps and heraldry. For convenience, the museum is divided into several sections devoted to different aspects of history. The National Museum of Natural History is the largest in the Balkans. Its exposition includes over 400 stuffed animals and over 1200 stuffed birds inhabiting the region. Separate exhibitions are devoted to fish, amphibians, modern and fossilized animals and birds, and minerals.

Another interesting museum in Sofia is the Museum of Socialist Art, which is a branch of the National Art Gallery of the country. The museum presents various exhibits related to the era of socialism. In the park adjacent to the museum, there are various memorials and monuments of the socialist leaders and figures. There are pictures in the gallery and documentaries about the Soviet past are broadcasted in the video hall. The national gallery itself was founded in 1948. Today it has more than 50 thousand exhibits, among them pictures, paintings, graphics and sculptures. In the museum you can get acquainted with the work of both foreign authors and equally famous Bulgarian ones. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Sofia also has many historical sites. In the heart of the city are the ruins of the former ancient city of Serdika, founded as early as the time of the Thracian kingdom. The first mention of the settlements in this place indicates the 8th century BC. On the territory of ancient Serdika is the oldest church of Sofia - the Rotunda of St. George, built in the 4th century in the center of the residence of the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Great. During the Turkish invasion, the church was converted to a mosque, but the restorers managed to restore its former appearance. The Cathedral of St. Sophia is the Cathedral of the Holy Week, built in the 18th century. A patriarchal cathedral of the country is the Alexander Nevsky Temple- Monument, a majestic building towering over the city and dominating the rest of the buildings.

There are more than 200 buildings in Plovdiv, the protection of which is one of the priorities of the state. Since antiquity, the ruins of the city forum, the ancient theater for 3000 seats (completely restored), basilicas, temples and fortifications have been preserved in the city. In the center of the city, traces of the Thracian fortress are clearly seen and since the days of Turkish rule, mosques and bathhouses have been preserved. In Varna is one of the largest archaeological museums in the country, which was created in the 18th century. The exposition includes exhibits from the Paleolithic to the First Bulgarian State. In the Varna necropolis, the oldest gold in the world was found.

The largest church in Varna is the Assumption Cathedral, built in the 19th century on the square of Cyril and Methodius. The temple is decorated with numerous frescoes and stained-glass windows, which makes it very beautiful. In Burgas there is the Ethnographic Museum, located in an old house that once belonged to the lawyer Brakolovoi. Among the exhibits are national dresses, clothes and household items. Interestingly, the exhibition subjects are devoted to a wide variety of epochs. The center of Burgas is also a real open-air museum. On its territory, there are a large number of monuments of history and architecture. Among them are Art Nouveau style apartment houses, as well as the Marine Park, where you can see monuments of famous people.