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Centralsouth Bulgaria > Koprivshtitsa > Landmarks
Landmarks in Koprivshtitsa
Koprivshtitsa is one of the few thoroughly preserved architectural urbanised ensembles of the Revival Period. The Revival Period houses with colourful courtyards, surrounded with high stone walls and gates, the disorderly built curved and narrow cobblestone streets and plots, the numerous stone drinking-fountains, the arch-shaped little stone bridges over the mountain brooklets and the fragrance of geranium, boxshrub, peony and pelargonium contribute to the attractiveness of the little town.
The greatest wealth of Koprivshtitsa are its Revival Period houses, a part of which were turned into museums: Oslekov’s House - the most famous architectural, ethnographic site in the town, ownership of a rich merchant from Koprivshtitsa in the middle of the 19th century. The artistically carved ceilings, the beautifully painted with geometrical figures walls, the exotic mosaics, the ancient engravings and the exquisitely elaborated applied decorative articles indicate the living standards and the spiritual wealth of the well-off citizens of Koprivshtitsa. The home of Georgi Benkovski - the leader of the April Uprising. The wooden gun, the banner of the Flying Detachment of armed volunteers sewed by Raina Popgeorgieva (Knyaginya) (the Princess) and the arms of the Voivoda are the most priceless relics of that tempestuous time.
The house of Lyuben Karavelov acquaints us with the revolutionary and journalistic activities of one of the most prominent sons of Koprivshtitsa and Bulgaria. The house of Todor Kableshkov exhibits the activity of the 25-years old young man who organised the rebellion in the town, the author of the famous Blood-stained letter by which it was announced to the Main Revolutionary Headquarters in Panagyurishte that Koprivshtitsa had risen in arms. Lyutovs’ House Museum hosts an exposition on the subject of “Treasury of Bulgarian Construction Genius”.
The House of Dimcho Debelyanov - the life and the literary activities of the most lyrical Bulgarian poet are reflected in it. Like in the other houses-museums, here the atmosphere, in which Dimcho Debelyanov lived and created his poems, was preserved, too.
The following houses are of interest to the visitor, too namely the houses of Gencho Stoykov, Naiden Gerov, Desyovs’, Gurkovs’, Mluchkovs’, Yotovs’, Madzharovs’, Markovs’, Dogans’, Pavlikyans’ and the Vakarel’s house (the oldest houses in the town with over 300 years of life) and dozens of others. The Uspenie Borgorodichno Church (Assumption Church) (1817) with an iconostasis of 1821 and icons painted by Zakhari Zograph and Ioan Samokovli (1837 - 1838) is of a high architectural and artistic value. The St. Nikola Church (1842-1844) is worth seeing as well.
There are a lot of monuments in the town, too: “Mausoleum-Charnel House - 20th April” (in the central 20th April Sq.) of those who died during the April Uprising. The First Gun Memorial past the old little stone bridge where the rebel Georgi Tihanek fired the first shot of the April Uprising. The monument to Тodor Kableshkov, the memorial complex with the key figure of Georgi Benkovski. One of the most moving monuments in our country - mother waiting for her son to return was placed on the grave of Dimcho Debelyanov. It is the work of the sculptor Prof. Ivan Lazarov.
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