Local Cuisine:
The traditional Bulgarian styled taverns have the look of a community hunting lodge and are often decorated with national symbols; displaying colourful rugs and table cloths, bells and prized mountain game. The Bulgarians’ favourite past-time is to sit around a table, drinking, eating and sharing with old and new friends alike. These high-spirited get-together often continue well into the early hours of the morning. The first word that any newcomer to Bulgaria hears, even before ‘yes or ‘no’ is Nazdrave, Which means “cheers” or “good health” and is shouted constantly throughout an evening. These historical settings are permeated by the sense of time standing still, and maybe it is for this reason that food in Bansko is an absolute treat. The local Mehanas proudly offer the specialties of the region. They are a delicacy not to be missed. Meals are often started with a salad that has undeniably come from a homegrown garden.
Treasured Sites:
The magnificent Holy Trinity Church is a must see. Constructed between 1835 and 1837, by a team of 300 local masters. The sanctuary remains one of the largest churches in Bulgaria, stretching 42 meters long and 22 meters wide. The church was established as the most significant cultural centre of Bansko during the National Revival period.
The house of Neofit Rilski, the founder of Bulgarian secular education and first Bulgarian encyclopaedist, is adjacent to the church. The house, transformed into a museum in 1986, is a wonderful visualisation of life in Bansko in the 18th century.
Bansko is probably most famous as a renowned Bulgarian ski resort, but it is also known as “the Gate to Pirin”, and in the Old Town, with its beautifully preserved traditional stone masonry, the clock tower – the century-old symbol of the town – is adorned by a storks’ nest. Each summer, for many years now, the same storks rear their little ones here. Another must see site is The Velyanov House.
Bansko Architecture:
One of the most charming towns at the foot of the Pirin Mountain, Bansko is renowned for its original National Revival architecture. More than one hundred houses and mansions built in the late 17th-19th century period have been preserved and restored to their original glory; some of them were fashioned into small family hotels and traditional taverns.
Two storey stone houses, some of which resemble medieval fortresses, have thick walls of round river stones and are tucked behind high walls and massive oak gates. Later on, in the 19th century, the stone walls of the second floor were substituted for a much lighter construction, with the second floor overhanging the first, sometimes with an open veranda. The ground floor usually consisted of cellars and shops, storage rooms and cattle sheds or stables… and hiding places for the household. The houses even had secret underground passages that connected house to house where the family could withdraw in times of peril.
