The village of Kondolovo is located in the heart of Strandzha Mountain. It is the one of the few remaining villages with almost completely preserved typical Strandzha architecture from the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century.
It is located on the northern watershed of the Veleka River, on the road Tsarevo - Kondolovo village - Gramatikovo village - Malko Tarnovo town.
How to get to the village of Kondolovo?
It is 24 km from the town of Tsarevo and 33 km from the town of Malko Tarnovo.
Until May 1950, the village was named Marzevo. In memory of the leader Georgi Kondolov, a hero of the Ilindensko-Preobrazhensko affair, the village was renamed.
Today, Kondolov's face will greet you from the white facade of the only grocery store here.
In Kondolovo, it seems that time has stopped a long, long time ago...
Everything is somehow quiet and peaceful. There is no one here.
It is very green all around - every street is immersed in greenery, which, however, is slowly taking over the old, dilapidated wooden houses, slightly sloping to one side.
Empty broken windows peek out of the houses.
I stop near a small house, near which surprisingly are the foundations of Purko's house, recently destroyed, the setting of everyone's favorite Bulgarian film "Mr. for a Day" (Gospodin za edin den) with the incredible Todor Kolev.
I peek inside... It's been abandoned for a long time... Sad...
I remember the film, Purko, the poor country musician, his adventures as he tried to outwit his poverty, the little elephant from Strandzha Mountain, and his incredible appetite.
The film was shot almost entirely here - in the village of Kondolovo.
In fact, the village was used as a setting for the shooting of two Bulgarian films - "Mr. for a Day" with the exceptional Todor Kolev and "Tree without Roots" with Nevena Kokanova and Pavel Poppandov.
Authentic sets of Bulgarian films
And today I find the village as authentic and real as it was decades ago, when it was alive, when children's laughter echoed and barefoot people ran through these same narrow streets – in another time, in another world...
The inhabitants of Kondolovo are the heirs of the ancient settlement of Urdoviza (today's Kiten), who escaped from the Laz (Caucasian pirates).
In the 18th century the village was depopulated by plague. At the end of the century it also suffered from the Kardzhali robberies.
Today, near the "Last cartridge" (a nice pub with a resounding name) you will find the church of St. George. In the small yard there was a nice and very interesting photo exhibition with authentic original photos from the village and the region, which I took especially to present to you.
The photos are interesting and take us back decades to be able to touch Kondolovo before.
The eco-trail "Rhododendron ponticum realm" starts right opposite the "Last cartridge".
Goodbye, Kondolovo, I hope you will be able to stand the test of time for longer, so that others can touch your casual authenticity and feel that Strandzha great spirit that hovered here some time ago.
I hope you succeed a little more!
I do hope...
I wish you a charming walk around!