An innovative museum site opens its doors in the military cemetery near Tutrakan
The "Tutrakan Epopee - 1916" memorial is situated in a new museum-exhibition building
It includes a number of new technologies that immerse the visitor in the history of the Battle of Tutrakan from World War I in 1916
The information is presented through an exposition
a 3D map of the events and a talk by a tour guide
tailored to the age and knowledge of the audience
The main core of the museum exhibition is an interactive diorama
where the visitor has the opportunity to experience the attack on the Tutrakan Fortress in 1916 as realistically as possible
The exposition is a 360-degree experience of the battlefield through virtual reality and exhibits from the battle
The museum presents the events in Dobrudzha not as an isolated episode
There are plans for organizing extracurricular lessons here for students from all over the country with interactive activities
The memorial at the military cemetery was created immediately after the epic battles for the capture of the Tutrakan Fortress on September 5 and 6
It is located 10 km south of the Danubian city of Tutrakan
as one of the fortified points of the Tutrakan Fortress - Fort No
Historians define the Tutrakan Battle as one of the peaks of Bulgarian military glory
After the Second Balkan War at the beginning of the 20th century and the Treaty of Bucharest signed on June 28
Bulgaria lost Southern Dobrudzha to Romania and the border was shifted south of the Danube River
another military conflict was brewing on the continent - World War I (1914-1918)
Both warring blocs were making attempts to attract Bulgaria to their side
offering it various solutions to recover the territorial losses
In an attempt to unite its ethnic territories
Bulgaria joined the Central Powers (Germany
Romania entered the war in August 1916 on the side of the Entente (France
135 battalions and 24 squadrons were stationed to oppose Bulgaria
Stefan Toshev stood against them with half as many forces – 63 companies
The Bulgarian forces decided to advance and liberate Dobrudzha
with the plan providing for the immediate capture of the Tutrakan and Silistra fortresses
the fighting spirit of the Bulgarian soldiers was unbreakable in the pursuit of liberation of the native land
The attack on the heavily fortified Tutrakan Fortress began on the morning of September 5
Bulgaria won one of its greatest victories of the war
After the Tutrakan Fortress was captured on September 6
by order of the commander of the 3rd Army
the entire population of the city and the surrounding villages spent days burying the thousands of Bulgarians
Romanians and Germans in graves near the fortress forts
Wooden crosses were placed at individual grave sites and the names of known fallen fighters were inscribed
At the initiative of the Tutrakan Charity Committee
the local population erected a memorial obelisk next to the cemetery
on which the words: "Honor and glory to those who knew how to die heroically for their fatherland" were written in four languages - Bulgarian
After the return of Southern Dobrudzha to Bulgaria with the Treaty of Craiova of September 7
the military cemetery continued to be a place of worship to the memory of the victims of the Battle of Tutrakan
restorations and improvements were carried out at the site
which became the "Military Tomb - 1916" memorial
visitors can relive the heroic historical events in the memorial's new museum-exhibition building
"You must have strong faith and pray - then the saint will help you and carry your prayer to God," says Father Georgi Markov of the Church of St
Athanasius the Great in Gorni Lozen near Sofia
He adds that he has often witnessed the miracles of St.
marks 1160 years since the baptism of our Bulgarian people into the Orthodox faith and 1170 years since the creation of the Bulgarian alphabet and Slavic literature
the Varna and Veliki Preslav Bishopric Metropolis.
Bulgaria celebrates 149 years since the April Uprising – an event that led to the liberation of Bulgaria after almost five centuries of Ottoman rule
we must not forget that every participant in the April.
english@bnr.bg
Tutrakan has been a fishing community since time immemorial
The good conditions for catching delicious fish in the Danube and the surrounding marshes have always helped people here earn their living
Archaeological finds indicate that fishing has been practiced here ever since the Old Stone Age
There are households in Tutrakan in our day who still fish for a living
The Museum of Danube Fishing and Boat Building in Tutrakan features many exhibits illustrating fishing traditions
The people living here have made a name for themselves as the top-notch fishermen and boat builders of the lower reaches of the Danube
and new finds and documents are constantly being added to its collection
arranged chronologically to enable visitors to trace the development of fishing tackle and technique – from antiquity down to our day
Here visitors can see fishing rods made of bone and copper
all kinds of nets made of plant textile fibers etc
“This museum of fishing is the only one of its kind in Europe and is dedicated entirely to this ancient occupation,” says Velichko Atanassov
an avid angler with a passion for boats and fishing nets
“Our museum is visited by a great many tourists every year; it is on Bulgaria’s 100 national tourist sites list
We have many people coming from other towns on the Danube who tell us about their own fishing traditions
visitors often contribute to the museum – they give us information which we look into and which is
the exhibit I find most intriguing is the clonk - a small device that emits a sound resembling the sound sheatfish make during breeding season
This sound brings the sheatfish up from the river bottom to the surface where they can be caught
long vanished and forgotten like the orie net
Some time ago a group of young fishermen from the town decided to use our model to make such a net
The orie is a net that is set underneath the boat and when the fish come to the surface it is much easier to catch them
The museum has different documents illustrating the most widespread fishing methods in the Bulgarian section of the river
Besides the video screens we have a special telephone at the museum
If visitors pick it up they will hear authentic stories told by the oldest fisherman in Tutrakan who has had the good fortune of catching the “goldfish” three times
Here we call sturgeon and beluga sturgeon “goldfish”; they are the fish caviar comes from and are themselves delicious
They are practically extinct now and fishing them is prohibited
Another one of the museum’s exhibits is a small-scale model of a floating mill of one hundred years ago
Back then people ground their flour using the power of the wind but Tutrakan is located in a windless area
the boat builders invented the floating mill – it is shaped like a ship and is anchored in the river’s coves
people “harnessed” the river stream which moves at a speed of 7 kilometers per hour
Local people say that at the turn of last century there were no less than 25 floating mills in the vicinity of Tutrakan
Many of them were sunk when the river was iced over
others were burnt down and not a single original mill has come down to us
visitors to the museum can see the model which illustrates the wheat grinding technology used by our forefathers," says Velichko Atanasov in conclusion
An architectural and cultural monument of national importance
the church of Saint George the Victorious in the town of Kyustendil is located at the foot of the nearby Osogovo Mountain
We do not need to travel thousands of kilometers to reach holy Christian places and “drink from the miraculous well” of Orthodox faith
Hundreds of churches and monasteries were built on Bulgarian territory with the faith and the hope.
A hard-to-reach fortress rose on a solitary ridge
which was towering above the Asenitsa River
This place built high in the rocks was once sheltering Thracians
Bayse Kasimlarli is a primary school teacher
She is one of those pedagogues for whom working with children is not just a profession
She says that the little ones give her strength and energy
and she puts her whole soul and heart into teaching them to read and write
"The End of the River" is not just any film - it is a film that seeks to find the universal aspects of human experience across borders
while also serving as an expression of cultural dialogue between Bulgaria and Ukraine
Ivan Stoyanov is a Bessarabian Bulgarian from Moldova
Our team met him in the Bulgarian church of Sophronius of Vratsa
where we were working on another episode of the Bridge of Faith podcast
dedicated to the Bulgarian Orthodox community in Lyon,.
to self-improvement and self-discovery," says Assoc
to the delight of connoisseurs of wild nature or those who like high-adrenaline experiences
as the most famous of these churches are located near the village of Ivanovo and are under the auspices of UNESCO
Another significant cultural and historical landmark is the medieval town of Cherven
Nenov’s advice to adventurers is to look for the hidden "treasures" of the Rusenski Lom River Valley
Climbers from Romania also know them and often come here
Some people also know the harder-to-reach sites
such as the Vodna Cave near the village of Tabachka
This is a relatively easy route for experienced people
It's not much climbing that's required here
One reaches a Thracian altar and there is also a healing spring
Roman inscriptions from antiquity can still be seen
showing who came and how much they donated to the sanctuary
which belonged to a monk from the 13th century
The place is rarely visited because it is largely unknown
but it is exactly one of the places in the region associated with high adrenaline and traveling," Prof
The rock climbing routes near Tabachka and Basarbovo are of varying difficulty and are equipped with the appropriate hangers. However, climbers should bring ropes, Prof. Nenov recalls. And of course, a mandatory stop for every visitor to the area is the magnificent rock monastery near the village of Basarbovo
The Danube offers water adventures and beautiful views
as well as an opportunity to try the local fish specialties
covering 5 Bulgarian and 5 Romanian riverside cities."
One can find cozy guest houses in the the villages of Bozhichen
"They are very nice and are full of tourists every weekend," Prof
Bulgaria’s Minister of Tourism Miroslav Borshosh and Zurab Pololikashvili
Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism)
have officially signed the agreement for Bulgaria to host the 9th Global Conference on Wine Tourism,.
The Mini Bulgaria Park is an unusual place for a tourist tour
spiritual culture and natural landmarks of Bulgaria meet
Gorna Oryahovitsa often remains undeservedly hidden from the eyes of tourists
even though it is only about 10 km away from Bulgaria's old capital
which lies at the foot of the Balkans on the banks of the.