Bansko, Bulgaria

Bansko is a city in Southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Northern Pirin at 927 m above sea level around the Glazne River. With a population of about 8 thousand inhabitants, the city is 56 km from Blagoevgrad, 145 km from Plovdiv and 150 km from Sofia. The Pirin National Park begins near the city of Bansko. Due to the mountain climate and the alpine nature of the Pirin Mountains, Bansko has excellent conditions for professional and amateur skiing. It is no coincidence that Bansko is one of the best Bulgarian ski resorts, not inferior to the Swiss winter resorts.

Bansko is a settlement from the 9th-10th century and was first mentioned in Turkish documents from 1576. In addition to its wild nature, Bansko has also preserved its Renaissance architecture, especially in the old part of the city, where there are about 150 cultural monuments, impressive with its authenticity. The city of Bansko has managed to preserve folklore and crafts, which today are an attraction for its guests. A large part of the city's inhabitants were enterprising merchants who traveled the world. Therefore, the typical tall windows and houses with decorated facades and fine wood carvings show the urban flourishing of the rich Bansko’s inhabitants since ancient times. It is no coincidence that the town is the birthplace of famous Bulgarians such as Paisiy Hilendarski, Neofit Rilski and the poet Nikola Vaptsarov.

The museum complex of Bansko is one of the best organized in our country and the spirit of the past can be felt in it in a special way. One of the old houses in the complex is Velyanova, built in the 18th century. It was decorated by one of the most famous representatives of the Ban art school, Velyan Ognev, who was called "ustbashi" or "master of masters". On the central facade, panels with plant compositions and baroque elements are impressive. The carved rosette on the ceiling of the veranda of the two-story house is of high artistic value.

The House-Museum of Neophyte Rilski is housed in the home of the Benini family from the 18th century, where Nikola Poppetrov Benin was born. In the Rila monastery, he received the name Neophyte of Rila (1793-1881) and had great merit in the struggle for enlightenment as the first founder of the New Bulgarian literary language. Repeatedly rebuilt, since 1981 the house functions as a museum. It consists of two parts - the authentically preserved house with an ethnographic exposition and the cell school, and the documentary composition includes the most valuable of Neofit Rilski's rich heritage - "Bulgarian Grammar" from 1835, the unfinished Greek-Bulgarian dictionary, books from his rich library , transcript of "Slavic Bulgarian History" from 1882 and many others.

The house-museum of one of the prominent Bulgarian poets of the 20th century, Nikola Vaptsarov, is among the first open museums in the Pirin region and is located on the Central Square in the city. His belief in a better life tomorrow is still relevant today.

The permanent icon exhibition "Ban Art School" presents an ethnographic exposition and icons painted by representatives of this school, as well as original icons and photocopies of original wall paintings, some of which are from the Rila Monastery. The exhibition is housed in the Rila Metoch - the oldest building in the city, built in 1749.

Walking around the city of Bansko, the tourist will see many revival houses such as Todevata, Djijevata, Zlatevata, Koyuvata and Sirleshtovata, each of which has its own history. With the characteristic wooden bay windows facing the street, they are the only ones preserved with such an architectural solution in this area.

The symbol of Bansko is the Orthodox Church "St. Trinity" from 1835, which was the largest in Bulgaria before the construction of the "St. Alexander Nevsky" in Sofia. The beautiful clock tower of the church "St. Troitsa" was erected a few years later by Usta Gligor Doyuv, with a height of 30 m and a clock that measures the time accurately even today. The clock is the work of master Todor Hadjiradonov. The stone bell tower blends perfectly with the architecture of the church.

The initiative for this construction came from the then mayor of the city, Lazar Germanovich, as the people of Bansko resorted to a trick to beg permission from the Turkish authorities. Since permission to build a church was only given if there were ruins of one, they buried some old icons and a cross in the autumn. And when they "found" them, the Bansko’s people received the long-awaited permission to build the church. The colorful ornaments and wood carving of the beautiful iconostasis are the work of Velyan Ognev. The prominent representative of the Bansk Art School, Dimitar Molerov, worked on the decoration of the church, which is impressive. The Church of the Holy Trinity is also known for the fact that the Chetniks, led by Yavorov and Hristo Chernopeev passionately announced the freedom of Bansko in 1912.

The holidays of the bathing tradition take place every year in the month of May and last a whole week. The city of Bansko is famous for its specialties such as catino meze, Bansko starets, and also the unique kapama.

In the locality "St. Nikola" 4 km from Bansko is a recently discovered fortress-city - Nameless City. During the excavations, skeletons of impressive dimensions, nearly 2 m high, were discovered. It is assumed that the Thracian tribe Dai, mentioned by Homer in the Iliad, lived here.

The city of Bansko is a beautiful mountain town, but its ski slopes are famous and visited by Bulgarian and foreign winter sports enthusiasts. The highest point of the ski center is 2560 m, and the lowest - 1000. The tracks with a length of about 70 km are 100% equipped with artificial snow machines, if there is no natural snow cover and there are tracks from December to May.

Depending on the capabilities and wishes of the tourists, they can choose which of the slopes to descend. Banderitsa, Balkaniada, Shiligarnik, Todorka and many more slopes, cable cars and tow-anchors are available to visitors. Numerous restaurants, teahouses and cafes offer drinks and food quickly for impatient skiers. Enjoying the beauty of the winter landscape and going down one of the slopes is a pleasant experience.