Exhibition "Kolyu Ficheto - Life and Creativity" at the Historical Museum in the town of Dryanovo - a story about the self-taught intuitive Renaissance genius
- Stefan Ivanov
- Jun 19
- 26 min read
Updated: Jul 22
Sometimes even the greatest architects, designers and builders do not necessarily need a highly paid and lengthy academic education to leave a lasting mark behind them.
Sometimes craftsmanship, innovation and a unique architectural style clearly mark a certain native talent – an uncut diamond, who with unsurpassed ease creates bold and beautiful architectural masterpieces – a string of impressive achievements and proof of pure, unadulterated genius.
Sometimes the recognition of a master craftsman is fully deserved, due to an innate unerring sense of proportion, statics and aesthetics.
Sometimes someone categorically manages to transform their vision into an elegant harmony of stone, wood and iron, leaving behind grandiose bridges, memorable churches, mansions and inns that still tell stories today.
Sometimes architectural creations are not just buildings and structures, but vivid testimonies of an intuitive genius who transcends the norms and constantly creates beyond his time.
That is why, on that wonderful May day, when the sun was gently caressing, and the blue azure was marked only by a few white fluffy clouds, we had once again chosen Dryanovo for our next joint family walk, and our main highlight was precisely the Historical Museum, located opposite the silent and simple sculpture of the first master - one of the greatest Bulgarian designers, builders and architects, whose legacy continues to inspire today, arousing admiration in everyone.
Thirsty for knowledge, but also filled with childlike curiosity, we opened the doors of the museum and with a huge dose of inspiration we immersed ourselves in the incredible exhibition "Kolyu Ficheto - Life and Creativity", arranged with so much love in the halls of the Historical Museum - Dryanovo.
During our unique experience amidst the wonderful exhibits, information boards, and numerous photographs, our guide through the architectural universe, entirely dedicated to the first master, was Madlena Maimareva's wonderful book "Master Nikola Ivanov Fichev (1800 – 1881)", which I purchased from the museum and on which I base my story now.
One of the greatest figures of the Renaissance!
A great practitioner and a great constructor, creator of many original architectural forms and structures, who spread them in the Tuna (Danube) vilayet.
His three-nave churches with massive domes and original facade pediments were built everywhere in the vilayet.
He is a representative of the brave and determined masters – disciplined people of the guild building lonja (general assembly), who for 45 years covered the Bulgarian land with churches, monasteries, bridges, schools and dwellings.
arch. Georgi Kozarov,
biographer of master Nikola Fichev
The first master was born in Dryanovo in 1800. Information about his life until his relocation to Tarnovo, when he was 30 years old, is very scarce. It is precisely because of the lack of concrete documentary material that some of this information is of the nature of legends and traditions.
They say that the father of the hero of our story today - Ivan Ficheto fell ill and died around 1803, when Nikola was a small child, which is why the care of the family's livelihood and the upbringing of the boy was taken over by his mother, who, despite the difficulties, managed to cope with the hardships of widowhood.
Little Kolyu attended the local monastery school.
His mother's desire was for her son to practice a craft that did not require traveling abroad outside the village, so that he would be closer to his home and to her. That is why she introduced him to a master abadjiya. But Kolyu's calling was not in the needle, but in the hammer and trowel.
A Dryanovo legend tells that a local carpenter named Dosyu discovered the profession of a builder.
That day, Dosyu, passing by the Dryanovo River through the Boyuv Yaz neighborhood, stopped to admire the game of the boys gathered by the water. One of them had started making a target to check who was the most accurate in hitting a target.
Master Dosyu watched with unquenchable amazement the dexterity of the little builder.
Having finished his work, the boy stepped back and everyone saw that the target was actually a small bridge, masterfully sculpted from mud and sticks - so beautiful, precisely built and so elegant that none of the boys raised a hand to shoot at him.
The master came closer and heard little Kolyu say:
If only my mother would give me a bridge like that, but made of stone, I would build it on the Dryanovo River when I grow up.
Years later, when we visited the boys' playground, we saw Kolyu's realized stone dream, towering just as gracefully above the waters of the river as his model made of mud and sticks had once been.
If it couldn't be done, it wouldn't be called that.
An old Dryanovo proverb
I think it is clear to everyone that Master Dosyu nevertheless convinced Kolyu's mother that her son was born to be a builder.
He was a professionally educated, intelligent, highly talented artist, who proved to his contemporaries his creative genius with more than one building and facility. With all this, he was also a socially engaged person, advocating for the freedom and prosperity of his people.
He was a man who deeply believed in Christian virtues!
In other words, Nikola Fichev is rightly considered one of the brightest Renaissance figures of the Bulgarian Revival.
arch. Nikolay Tuleshkov
In the first half of the 19th century, when Kolyu Ficheto embarked on his intended professional path as a builder, the carpenter's craft in Dryanovo was in its heyday.
The builders of Dryanovo, who diligently preserved and duly enriched the practical experience in the craft inherited from generations, were renowned as notable carpenters, skillful masons and talented stonemasons. It is for these reasons that they were preferred in the construction of private and public buildings and facilities in the European part of the Ottoman Empire. Carpenters were the majority of the men in the village, united in a guild organization created at the end of the previous century.
The work of the carpenter's guild was regulated by a statute that established the hierarchy in the organization, the relationships between its members, the conditions and terms of training for apprentices and journeymen, as well as their relations with the Turkish authorities.
The transition to a higher level of training was at the discretion of the master, and for this purpose it was necessary to comply with the regulated minimum term. After the young builder passed the journeyman years and proved the necessary skills, he was promoted to the level of master-baskaliya, in other words - a master without independent practice.
The last and highest level in the hierarchy of the carpenter's guild was an independent master - a master who had the right to hire and manage construction projects himself.
I will say that few people acquired this level, and only after conducting a carpenter's test, scheduled by the leadership of the guild organization.
Kolyu Ficheto completed the first stage of training – apprenticeship, working on construction sites together with the Dryanovo builders.
He was recognized as a journeyman sometime around 1817 – 1818 and from then on he obtained the right to perform specialized types of construction work, as well as to teach those younger than him.
In 1823, Nikola Fichev started a family and two years later his first son Ivan was born.
In 1830 he moved to Tarnovo. He continued his training with the good Tarnovo builders Usta Veliu and Staniu Marangozina.
During his travels to Constantinople, Wallachia and Moldova, Nikola Fichev became acquainted with modern architecture, admiring the preserved examples of medieval Bulgarian buildings. He drew inspiration and architectural ideas from the old Tarnovo churches.
The desire to improve his craft and his observations allowed him to form his own architectural style. With excellent knowledge of construction, the master builder used three foreign languages, which facilitated his contacts when hiring construction sites. According to one of his sons, Nikola, he spoke excellent Turkish and spoke Greek and Romanian.
It is assumed that in 1833 Nikola Fichev was recognized as a master-baskaliya, i.e. a master without independent practice. It is the mentioned year, although difficult to distinguish, that is read on his seal ring. Above the year is engraved the text marang(oz), i.e. his professional qualification is noted, and at the top is an image of an eagle, around which the letters KOL (Kolyu) are written. The ring was discovered in 1992 in the grave of the master.
The young master-bashal Nikola Fichev was given the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities and prove himself as an independent master with the completion of the Turnovo church "St. Nicholas". At the insistence of the church board, he replaced the ailing ustabashiya Ivan Ivanov, called Davdata by his contemporaries.
The independent construction activity of the Revival master began with the construction in 1840 of the church "St. Demetrius of Solun" in Kilifarevo Monastery.
His task was to build a new building on the site of the half-ruined church of the "Holy Mother of God" with the chapels of St. Theodosius and St. Ivan of Rila. Its dimensions were determined by a firman of 1838.
The master erected the walls of the new temple with the dimensions specified in the document, but included the altar wall of the old church with the two chapels under its roof. In this cunning way, without violation, he erected a larger and representative monastery church. And although this was his first completely independent work, it is distinguished by the characteristic Fichev style.
The church has been preserved to this day. It is single-nave, domed. The massive stone walls of the building are rhythmically articulated with built-in half-columns, above which the arcade curves like a garland of red bricks. The roof is picturesquely emphasized by a profile cornice in the characteristic Fichev curve. Below it is the relief image of the Holy Sepulchre Cross, a motif also engraved on the master's seal from 1840.
In 1843, master Kolyu Ficheto built his first city church - the Tarnovo "St. Bogoroditsa", which was unfortunately demolished in 1913 by the catastrophic earthquake with the epicenter in Gorna Oryahovitsa, an event that unfortunately did not spare a number of the master's creations.
We can judge its appearance only from an archival photo, as well as from an architectural photograph and model, made at the beginning of the 20th century by architectural technician Leon Filipov - a zealous connoisseur of Tarnovo's antiquities.
The church was created in a distinctly Fitch style. The pediments of the eastern and western facades ended with a complex multi-membered cornice, smoothly curved in the characteristic gable line. And although without a dome and a bell tower, the building impressed with the elegance of its facade.
Between 1839 and 1863, the master worked in stages in the Preobrazhensky Monastery - he completed the construction of the central temple "St. Transfiguration of the Lord", a carved iconostasis in the main church, completed the southeastern wing with a small living room and the main entrance with the colonnade, erected the bell tower, which elegantly fits into the residential wing, and completed the eastern residential wing with a guesthouse and the winter church "St. Annunciation".
Unfortunately, these buildings do not exist today, as landslides that continued from 1964 to 1980 took away part of the monastery complex.
In 1845, master Kolyu Ficheto built the church "Ascension of Prophet Elijah" in the Plakovski Monastery. Preserved today, it is a single-nave, domed building of the Athonite type, typical of the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The interior space is divided by six massive columns with capitals and a vaulted narthex.
In 1856, in the same monastery, the master built a majestic 28-meter bell tower with beautiful decorative masonry and residential buildings. His architectural decision to place a massive stone body behind the residential wing is interesting, so that its lower rough base is hidden behind it and only the openwork bell tower remains visible from the courtyard. Thus, the tall bell tower fits naturally into the monastery complex and at the same time marks the location of the monastery from afar.
The residential buildings were destroyed by fire in 1947, but the bell tower remained untouched.
In 1847, master Kolyu Ficheto participated in the renovation of the "St. Trinity" monastery. True to his principle of continuity, he designed the church building in the spirit of the medieval architectural tradition, and the open narthex - with columns taken from the destroyed ancient Roman fortress "Nicopolis ad Istrum".
A stone inscription preserved to this day reports the year of construction and for the first time the name of the builder, master Nikola Fichev, is mentioned.
Removed from the noise of worldly life, leaning against a stone wall about 80 meters high, in whose caves inaccessible to light, people tired of the world and life - monks - once sought refuge, on the right bank of the Yantra River, the monastery dedicated to the Holy Trinity stands like a picturesque crown, which lures the traveler from afar with the brilliance of its towers and bell towers.
Felix Kanitz
In 1868, in the courtyard of the Sokol Monastery, the chief master built an eight-jet fountain.
According to legend, the master built it in honor of the eight fallen rebels, participants in the detachment of Captain Grandpa Nikola. Built of local limestone, it has an octagonal shape and eight spouts, from each of which water flows evenly. The field of each wall is shaped like a vaulted niche, limited laterally by built-in half-columns, ending at the top with a relief image of a bird. Above them is the smooth curve of the cornice and a dome cover. Unfortunately, the original cover has not been preserved.
Having gained independence as a master and self-confidence from the first church constructions, Nikola Fichev built new Christian churches in Prisovo, Svishtov, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Lyaskovets and Tarnovo. All of them are distinguished by their impressive volume and representativeness.
In 1851, in his native Dryanovo, the chief master built the church "St. Nicholas".
The beautiful monumental building still stands today in the central part of the city.
I tell you about the church of "St. Nicholas" HERE.
On July 17, 1850, master Kolyu Ficheto completed the church of "St. Marina" in the Marnopol neighborhood of Tarnovo.
In 1859, master Kolyu Ficheto built the church of "St. Spas". Unfortunately, its roof was demolished during the great earthquake of 1913.
On March 10, 1860, master Kolyu Ficheto began the construction of the church "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" in the highest part of Tarnovo. The construction was finally completed on October 8, 1861. The church building is three-nave. It had two domes, which were demolished by the great earthquake of 1913. The eastern and western facades are shaped in the double Ficheto keel, characteristic of the master's work.
The church "St. St. Constantine and Elena" was begun by master Kolyu Ficheto in 1872 and was consecrated on October 7, 1873 by the Tarnovo bishop Ilarion Makariopolski.
The master overcomes the extremely steep terrain by placing the building on two terraces and building its base as a crypt with a chapel. This achieves stability of the structure and creates the opportunity for it to rise above all surrounding buildings. Given the unstable landslide terrain, he places revision columns on the side of the entrance door of the main entrance, above which he elegantly unfolds the stone sculpture of the canopy curtain.
This church is the most interesting of all the churches in Turnov in terms of boldness and originality of forms.
arch. G. Kozarov
Master Kolyu Ficheto donated his labor for the construction of the temple. As a sign of gratitude, the church board assigned him the first church throne and entered it in the Chronicle Book:
Gifted to the First Master Mr. Kolya Ficheva in return for the merit of the same church.
The Church "St. Trinity" in Svishtov was built in the period from 1865 to 1867.
The Chronicle Book records the start date of construction:
April 14, 1865, the foundation of the new church at Un Pazar was laid.
Two years later, the building was completed.
The solemn consecration of the temple took place on September 19, 1897.
Master Kolyu Ficheto was the most famous bridge builder on the territory of the European Ottoman Empire at that time.
In the period from 1857 to 1858, he built the first larger engineering structure - the stone bridge over the Rositsa River near Sevlievo with a length of 110 meters.
Today, only the lower structure remains of the Fichev Bridge, as it has undergone several reconstructions since the beginning of the 20th century.
This bridge cannot compete in grandeur with the Belen Bridge over the Yantra River, but with its strength it withstood the incredible pressure of the water element in 1871. We again crossed the new seven-arch bridge over the Rositsa River. The width of its seven arches, increasingly higher from the bank towards the middle, then its pillars and buttresses of quarry stone show excellent proportions; only the entrance part of the bridge, which on both sides climbs strongly towards the middle in a Turkish manner, is very steep and narrow by our standards, but satisfactory for the traffic there. I looked with pleasure at the beautiful building, erected by order of Midhat Pasha by the Bulgarian master.
Felix Kanitz on the Fichev Bridge near Sevlievo over Rositsa
The Dryanovo stone bridge has the same construction as the Sevlievo one, but is smaller.
I tell you about the Dryanovo stone bridge, built by master Kolyu Ficheto HERE.
With the accumulation of knowledge and skills in the construction trade, master Kolyu Ficheto began to build his next bridges with a horizontal roadway. The first such facility was the bridge over the Vesselina River near the village of Yovkovtsi. Unfortunately, today this facility is at the bottom of the Yovkovtsi dam.
The bridge near the village of Yovkovtsi reveals even more fully the creative path, the striving for continuous improvement, but the inexhaustibility of Kolyu Ficheto's ingenious legacy.
arch. Vangelov
In the period from 1865 to 1867, master Kolyu Ficheto built a bridge over the Yantra River near Byala.
Unfortunately, the Ficheto Bridge near Byala does not exist in its original form today, because it was changed by the flood in 1897.
The structure was 276 meters long and 9.5 meters wide.
This is a unique structure not only with its original construction and ingenious, technically perfect method of foundation, but also mainly because of its perfect architectural image, radically different from all bridge construction in the Turkish Empire.
The legend that tells of the hiring of master Kolyu Ficheto for this construction is interesting.
The task was to bridge the wild and muddy Yantra River with a solid stone structure, which regularly destroyed the bridge built at Byala when it overflowed. This interrupted the transport connection on the important strategic road Ruse-Tsarigrad. The engineer Lyudmil Rola Gavronski, who was charged with this task, calculated that 3 million groschen would be needed for this. Then Midhad Pasha, on the recommendation of the Dryanovo builder Dragan Moraliyata, turned to master Kolyu Ficheto. The 65-year-old builder asked for a two-week deadline for a response. Traveling to Tarnovo, he made the necessary measurements of the depth (with a wooden stake) and the width of the river (with a rope). He returned to Tarnovo, bought 6 wax candles and from them prepared a model of his future bridge. He calculated that the construction would cost 700,000 groschen. He returned to Midhad Pasha on the appointed day and announced the price he was offering, which was nearly 4 times lower. It is also said that because of the Pasha's distrust, the builder had to make a model and repeat his calculations a second time.
His answer was categorical:
Pasha Effendi, if I don't build the Byala bridge to my specifications for 700,000 groschen, take my head!
Master Kolyu Ficheto honorably fulfilled his promise, exactly for the specified price and exactly for the requested period of two years. He built a solid structure with 14 arches, on stone masonry.
How was it possible for the dirty, muddy Yantra to be equipped with this extremely carefully crafted stone bridge, made of dense Eocene limestone, 276 meters long, 9 meters wide, with 14 arched openings and beautifully sculpted 5.4 meter thick pillars?
Felix Kanitz
At the Belen Bridge, master Kolyu Ficheto achieved an excellent combination of solid construction, beautiful architecture and sculpture. His merits were appreciated by the Turkish authorities, who awarded the master with the highest distinction for a non-Muslim in the Ottoman Empire – the Sultan's Order of Medzhidie, with 50,000 groschen and a yard in Tarnovo. He also received another award – the recognition of a Western European scientist Felix Kanitz, whose assessment was:
The most perfect new hydrotechnical building in Turkey, excluding Istanbul, which would do honor to the most talented European technicians!
Whoever looks at my sketch of Ficheoglu's bridge at Byala with its ingeniously built pillars to counteract ice, with its extremely original channels for easy passage of high waters, will exclaim like me:
"What could happen to such a highly gifted people if one of our numerous technical schools could be moved to the Balkans."
The bridge was destroyed in 1897, with only the abutment and four of the columns remaining. Restoration continued until 1923, with the new part being one meter narrower than the original.
In the period from 1874 to 1876, master Kolyu Ficheto built a Covered Bridge over the Osam River in Lovech.
Unfortunately, this Covered Bridge-Bazaar burned down in 1925.
The Lovchanski Bridge had 6 openings of 11 meters each. Its pillars were stone and pointed on their front side. The thickness of the pillars was 3.5 meters, and their height was 4.5 meters. The foundations were probably laid on rock and reinforced with concrete around them. The pillars at a height of 2 meters above the riverbed were massive, and at the remaining height of 2.5 meters they had a cavity in the middle of 1.5 meters wide, which served to allow the water to flow more freely during floods. On the stone pillars and abutments there was a wooden structure, which together with the shops on the bridge was about 86 meters long, covered with boards and sheet metal. The width of the bridge was 10 meters. Of these, 5 meters in the middle of the bridge – for the road and 2.5 meters for the shops, slightly overhanging and raised 60 cm above the road. The bridge was illuminated through skylights on the roof and windows on the outer walls of the shops.
The shops are 2.5 meters deep and wide and 2.5 meters high, separated by wooden partitions and double wooden outer walls. The master tried to give the bridge architectural decoration. The middle of the bridge is marked by circularly protruding shops – kiosks, one on each side. Wider than the others, they were a Cafe and a Barber Shop. On the face of these shops inside the bridge there were two cylindrical stone columns, which could be easily rotated by hand around their vertical axis. And as long as these cylinders were rotating – it showed that the bridge had not yet settled.
Outside the bridge, on the noses of its stone pillars, the master carved and placed stone figures on each pillar: a lion, an eagle, a female bust with flowers, etc. And on one of the pillars is carved the year 1874 and a hand holding a staff (rod).
This historic and original bridge withstood the strongest floods for 50 years, but burned down on August 2-3, 1925. It was a crossroads of state roads passing through Lovech, and the Municipality had its annual income from the shops. The state justly came to the rescue, allocating 5 million leva to restore the bridge with shops.
Eng. Trifon Hr. Trifonov
A new reinforced concrete structure has been built in place of the burned-down Covered Bridge, built by master Kolyu Ficheto.
Of the houses built by master Kolyu Ficheto, only two exist today – in Veliko Tarnovo and in Dryanovo.
In 1849, at the behest of the wealthy jelepin Nikola Koyuv, the master builder built a house for the family of his son-in-law Stefan Penev Akhtar, popular today as The House with the Monkey.
It is located in Tarnovo, on Samovodska Bazaar. On the central facade is a stone sculpture of a man sitting on a profiled column and a commemorative inscription, which indicates that the building had a mixed purpose.
The house is located on steep terrain - a problem that the master once again successfully copes with.
From the main street side, it is three stories high with an approach to the store, and from the opposite side, from the secondary street, you enter directly into the apartment.
The real achievement is in the facade, decorated with brick cladding, enlivened by the dense network of embossed white grouting. He also successfully coped with the problem of the dark staircase located inside the house. Right above it on the roof, he installed a hatch - overhead lighting.
Today, the House with the Monkey in Tarnovo is owned by the municipality.
In his native Dryanovo, master Kolyu Ficheto built the Hadzhigenchev, Hadzhistanev and Ikonomov houses. Of these, only the Ikonomov house has survived today.
I tell you about the Ikonomov House HERE.
Master Kolyu Ficheto also achieved success in the construction of public and commercial buildings. With the exception of the beautiful Hadzhinikoliev Khan, they were demolished in the 20th century.
In 1858, the master builder erected the enchanting Hadzhinikoliev Khan in Tarnovo.
The buildings for the bedrooms are located along the length of the narrow courtyard towards the slope and on one of its short sides, and on the other - a stable for the clients' riding animals. The wing towards the street is for commercial and service purposes. Given the difference in elevation (9 meters) of the terrain, it is three stories high on the courtyard side and one story high on the back, on the side of the parallel secondary street.
The building is massive, with magnificent proportions. In front of the rooms on the two residential floors are balconies, decorated with an elegant colonnade and canopied vaults. The wavy metal railings winding between the columns, repeating the curves of the stone consoles, add special beauty.
The colonnaded inn of Hadji Nikoli represents the apotheosis of this type of public buildings in the work of Nikola Fichev. The building still impresses today not only with its beautiful facade design, but also with an excellent structural solution.
arch. Tuleshkov
The inn was restored by its new owner Edmund Beck in the period from 2006 to 2010. In March 2010, "Han Hadji Nikoli" reopened its doors as a public building.
In the period from 1860 to 1861 In the Belyanka area of Tarnovo, master Kolyu Ficheto built a silk, alcohol and flour factory for Stefan Karagyozov, which, according to Felix Kanitz, was significant, even on a European scale. The building was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1865, in Sevlievo, master Kolyu Ficheto built the store of hadji Nikola hadji Konov, which was demolished in the 1860s.
It is known that in Dryanovo, master Kolyu Ficheto also built a Turkish konak and the Velkoviya han. Unfortunately, the buildings were demolished and only the mention in the information recorded by local historians remains.
In 1874, Nikola Fichev, respected by the Turkish authorities, was preferred for the construction of the new administrative building - the Konaka in Tarnovo.
The building is 60 meters long and 20 meters wide. Due to the uneven terrain, it has four floors on the south side and two floors on the north. The architectural achievement of the Revival master is in the facade design.
The entrances are formed by porticos on the ground floors of the risalites, which gives the building a European appearance. The central entrance is located behind a semicircular colonnade with a pediment above it, curved in its upper part in a smooth line of the double Fichev keel.
After the Liberation, the new administration settled in the former Turkish konak. The Constituent Assembly met here and the Tarnovo Constitution was adopted.
After the Unification, the Tarnovo City Municipality and the Magistrates' Courts, as well as the Tarnovo District Court, were housed here. On December 18, 1906, a fire destroyed the building built by master Kolyu Ficheto. Rebuilt, it continued to be used as an administrative building until 1985, when the "Renaissance and Constituent Assembly" museum was opened in it. Before that, two reconstructions were made in order to achieve maximum approximation to the original.
Master Kolyu Ficheto died on November 15, 1881 in Tarnovo. His grave is located in Druzhba Park.
How to get to the town of Dryanovo?
Dryanovo (spelling until 1945: Drѣnovo) is a town located at the foot of the Stara Planina Mountains, in Central Northern Bulgaria.
It is located in the Gabrovo region, at the crossroads between Northern and Southern Bulgaria, near the cities of Veliko Tarnovo, Tryavna, Gabrovo and Sevlievo.
The town is the administrative center of the Dryanovo municipality.
Dryanovo is located on:
212 kilometers (about 2 hours and 48 minutes by car) from the capital
156 kilometers (about 2 hours and 46 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv
244 kilometers (about 2 hours and 57 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
227 kilometers (about 2 hours and 40 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
Dryanovo is located among the beautiful and rounded hills of the Central Fore-Balkans, on both banks of the Dryanovska River, a right tributary of the Yantra River.
The name of the town comes from the dogwood tree, which symbolizes the tenacious and unyielding spirit of the local mountaineers.
The name of the town comes from the dogwood tree, which symbolizes the tenacious and unyielding spirit of the local mountaineers.
On the territory of the municipality is the continuation of the Mikrenski Heights – the rocky limestone plateau of Strazhata, cut through by the bizarre gorges of the Yantra River and the Dryanovska River.
The altitude varies from 180 to 640 meters above sea level. The highest point in the region is Balabana – over 620 meters above sea level.
The city is located on the highway Ruse - Veliko Tarnovo - Gabrovo - Shipka - Stara Zagora. The station is on the main railway artery connecting Northern and Southern Bulgaria - Ruse - Gorna Oryahovitsa - Dabovo - Podkova.
In the Dryanovo region, the oldest traces of life on the Balkan Peninsula were discovered - in the natural landmark Bacho Kiro cave near the Dryanovo Monastery "St. Archangel Michael".
Numerous remains of ancient settlements, fortresses, columns with inscriptions and decorations from the time of the Thracians and Romans have also been found.
During the Ottoman rule, Dryanovo managed to preserve the Bulgarian spirit, with Dryanovo's spiritual centers being among the great guardians of the Christian faith and Bulgarian writing, traditions, and culture.
The old monastery school, located in the courtyard of the Bulgarian National Revival church "Holy Trinity" in Dryanovo, dates back to the first half of the 19th century and awaits every visitor to reveal its carefully guarded secrets.
In 1778, a clock tower was built in the center of Dryanovo, which was destroyed twice.
Dryanovo masters and builders were extremely prominent and worked in various parts of the empire, and even beyond its borders. This gives grounds to speak of a Dryanovo building school.
How to get to the Historical Museum – Dryanovo?
Historical Museum - Dryanovo is located at 82 Shipka Street.
Right next to the entrance to the museum there is a small street where you can safely leave your car.
Opposite the museum stands the oldest temple in Dryanovo - the Revival church "Holy Trinity". In the courtyard of the temple is the old monastery school.
6 kilometers southwest of the town of Dryanovo (about 8 minutes by car) is the Dryanovo Monastery "St. Archangel Michael" - a popular cultural center, educational center and a hotbed of patriotic and freedom-loving spirit.
How to get to the Dryanovo Monastery "St. Archangel Michael"?
Dryanovo Monastery "St. Archangel Michael" is located in Northern Bulgaria, about 5 kilometers southwest of the town of Dryanovo and about 15 kilometers northeast of the town of Gabrovo.
A good asphalt road leads to it.
It is served by the "Bacho Kiro" railway station, which until October 20, 1949 was named "Saint Archangel", on the "Ruse-Momchilgrad" railway line. The railway station is located about a kilometer from the monastery.
You can leave your car by the road leading to the monastery, where no parking fee is required.
Near the Dryanovo Monastery "St. Archangel Michael", as well as directly in the parking lot in front of the entrance to the monastery, parking is paid.
What can you see in the area of the Dryanovo Monastery "St. Archangel Michael"?
After visiting the Dryanovo Monastery "St. Archangel Michael" and the rich exposition of the Historical Museum - Dryanovo, pass the church "St. Archangel Michael" and head to the small and narrow door in the back of the monastery.
Coming out of it, climb onto the bridge built over the waters of the Dryanovska River.
There is a narrow path starting to the left of the bridge and winding along the river. At a normal pace, in between 5 and 10 minutes you will find yourself in front of the Sini Vir waterfall.
After enjoying the Sini Vir waterfall, you can continue towards the Andaka River canyon, the natural landmark Bacho Kiro cave and the Dryanovo eco-trail.
For this purpose, you need to return to the starting point of the trail. A few meters from this place, the waters of the Andaka River flow into the Dryanovska River, and across the way you will see a second bridge, which is called "Lovers' Bridge".
Dozens of locked padlocks hang on the railings of the bridge, inscribed with the names of the lovers who hung them here.
Walk along it, passing the restaurant. You will find yourself on the path leading towards the canyon of the Andaka River, the natural landmark Bacho Kiro Cave and the Dryanovo Eco-Trail.
The Andaka River is a small river in the Pre-Balkans, a left tributary of the Dryanovo River.
The gorge that the Andaka River forms in the area of the limestone plateau Strazhata from the Andaka Cave to the place where its waters flow into the Dryanovska River, although small in size, is fabulously beautiful. The river is dotted with numerous wonderful waterfalls, which, especially in spring, are extremely beautiful and full of water.
The path winding along the river will take you to Bacho Kiro Cave - a natural landmark and an architectural and construction monument of culture from Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
The natural landmark Bacho Kiro Cave is a complex four-story labyrinth of cave galleries and branches with a total area of about 3,600 square meters, which makes it one of the largest caves in Bulgaria.
The beautiful Dryanovo Eco-Trail starts from the entrance to the cave.
The Dryanovska eco-trail winds along the Boruna rock ridge and leads to the Bench of Love, from where a magnificent panorama of the picturesque canyon of the Dryanovska River opens.
What you can visit nearby?
Just 21 kilometers south of the town of Dryanovo (about 25 minutes by car) is the town of Gabrovo. In Gabrovo, you must visit the Architectural and Ethnographic Complex and Open-Air Museum "Etar".
Just 16 kilometers from the city of Gabrovo (about 26 minutes by car) you will find the charming jewel of Bozhentsi, which you should definitely visit.
Just 22 kilometers east of Gabrovo (about 34 minutes by car) is beautiful Tryavna, which I definitely recommend you visit.
About 23 kilometers south of the city of Gabrovo (about 34 minutes by car) is the Freedom Monument, known as the Shipka Monument.
About 48 kilometers south of the city of Gabrovo (about 58 minutes by car) is the city of Kazanlak.
In Kazanlak you can visit the Rose Museum.
After you have viewed the rich exhibition of the museum, I suggest you take a relaxing walk through the wonderful alleys of the Rosarium Park in the town of Kazanlak.
In the town of Kazanlak, I suggest you also visit the church of St. Elijah, also known as the Kulenska Church.
Just 5 kilometers south of the town of Kazanlak (about 8 minutes by car) is the village of Buzovgrad, where the wonderful adventure of the "Path through the Ages" eco-trail begins.
You shouldn't miss it for anything in the world!
48 kilometers east of Kazanlak (about 40 minutes by car) you will find the Zhrebchevo Dam. The ruins of the submerged church of St. Ivan Rilski still stand near the dam.
23 kilometers west of Kazanlak (about 25 minutes by car) you will find the town of Pavel Banya.
3 kilometers east of Pavel Banya (about 5 minutes by car) you will find the village of Viden. Near the village still stand the ruins of the wonderful church of St. Anastasius.
4 kilometers south of Pavel Banya (about 7 minutes by car) is the village of Turia.
Here you can visit the birthplace of Chudomir.
On the square in front of Chudomir's house you can see a monument to the Chetnik Tsanko Minkov Dechev - Komitata, who was born in Turia Botev.
In Turia you can enjoy an authentic Roman bridge called "Skoca".
8 kilometers from Turia (about 9 minutes by car) you can enjoy the natural landmark "Kichest Gabbar".
Very close to "Kichest Gabar" you can explore Kutela.
You are reading an ad-free blog – fully focused on the content!
I remind you that you can read all my posts here – in "Photo Moments", without being interrupted by a single annoying ad, because "Photo Moments" is a place without ads!
I made the important decision to make "Photo Moments" ad-free so that my site can load much faster, the content I present to you can be as clean as possible, and your experience in "Photo Moments" can be the best possible!
If you appreciate everything I do, you can support me HERE or by following the gold star below.
Thank you!
And finally, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss checking out
the special photo album with moments –
discovered, experienced, filmed and shared with you!
Comments