Visiting The City Of Panagyurishte, Bulgaria

Let me first tell you why you should not visit the city of Panagyurishte.

Do not visit Pangyurishte if you want to see authentic Bulgarian Revival architecture, because you will be disappointed. Let me explain why.

Panagyurishte is mainly known for being the center of the April Uprising against the Ottoman rule in Bulgaria in 1876. The city was the capital of the Fourth Revolutionary District which was the main center of the rebellion. The uprising was bloodily suppressed after 10 days of declared freedom, and the town was burnt down and almost completely destroyed by the Ottoman Turks! There are only a few houses which have survived.

If you want to see a larger collection of restored Bulgarian Revival style houses, then you should visit Koprivshtica. You can read more about it in the blog post Wandering around Koprivshitica, Bulgaria by the Travelling Buzz.

Now up to the point, my dear travelers.

Why you should visit Panagyurishte?

You are from Bulgaria and you haven’t been to Panagyurishte. Wait, what? You haven’t been to Panagyurishte? Yo, mate, did you skip a school trip or what?! You should fix that. 🙂

As for you dear foreign travelers. If you choose to visit Panagyurishte, you are in for a real treat!

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I’ve visited the city twice. The first time was 13 years ago and the second 3 weeks ago. I don’t remember much from my first trip and how Panagyurishte looked back then, but I gotta tell you, it  has changed a lot ever since!

Th city is made with so much love! The paved streets and sidewalks; the beautiful lamps that look like fireflies during the night; the colorful fountains in the center; the perfectly cut green grass on the way to the Apriltsi Monument; the museums and the kind people who work there; the pink school with a football playground made of real glass. There are so many details!

Panagyurishte, Bulgaria 12

I have to admit that before going to Panagyurishte I wasn’t aware that the Panagyurishte Treasure is there. I never knew where it was kept. Was it a part of a travelling exhibition abroad? Or was it kept somewhere private? Where is the treasure?? I’ve never known. And I am talking about one of the oldest gold treasures in the world, dating back to the 4th century BC! So, lucky me, it is actually there, exposed permanently in a special vault, right where the History Museum is!

The Panagyurishte Treasure is a Thracian treasure excavated on December 8, 1949 by three brothers, Pavel, Petko and Michail Deikov who worked together at the region of “Merul” tile factory near Panagyurishte. The Treasure consists of phiale, an amphora and seven rhytons with total weight of 6.164 kg of 24-karat gold.

Panagyurishte Treasure

How to get to Panagyurishte?

The distance between Sofia and Panagyurishte is 90 km. By car you can be there for one hour and a half, and by bus in two hours. Taking the train is not really an option, because the ride takes too long and you will most likely have to transfer.

If you go by car,  you can actually make it into a one day trip.

Where to stay?

I would definitely recommend staying at Kamengrad Hotel & SPA, situated in the heart of Panagyuirishte. Basically, where Kamengrad is, there is the top center! (not that the city is that big, but still 😀 ). Half of the rooms offer a great view over the city and you can drink your coffee on the balcony, while observing the busy life of Panagyurishte and the beauty of the surrounding area.

Panagyurishte_Kamengrad hotel

Kamengrad_Hotel_Panagyurishte

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the variety of SPA procedures you can enjoy during your stay at Kamengrad. The hotel has been named among the 10 most innovative Spa & Wellness centers in Bulgaria and that is well deserved. I loved the SPA! ❤

Where to eat?

We’ve asked a few locals in Panagyurishte where is the best place to eat and we got a 100% winner – Mehana Starata Kushta (The old house tavern)! The tavern is right in the center, it’s quite big, with an yard and playground for kids. Prices are average and the food is delicious. Just perfect!

What to do?

  • Visti the Apriltsi Memorial Complex. From the top you will be able to see the whole city and the surrounding area. The view is spectacular! #miradouro

Apriltsi Memorial Complex, Panagyurishte

Panagyurishte, Bulgaria

  • Buy a pass for all museums. It costs 7 leva (€3.5) for adults and 4 leva (€2) for students. The pass gives you an access to: The History Museum, The Hall Treasury, Dudekova House, Raina Knyagina House, Lekova House, Tuteva House, Marin Drinov House. You can also see e design of a Panagyurishte bazaar, which is situated in the area of the History Museum. All of the museums have been recently renovated and there are signs also in English. It’s a great tour!

History_Museum_Panagyurishte

My most favorite stop for sure is the Lekova House. The owner, Ivan Lekov, a wealthy merchant, is a revolutionary activist and participant in the April Uprising. The Lekova House was actually not his private home, but his guest house! His home was burned down by the Ottoman Turks.

Lekova_House_Panagyurishte

You can see some extraordinary murals inside and outside of the building, which are made by the local master Ivan Zografov. On the photo below is the real masterpiece. The mural is called “The Wheel of Life”. That kind of mural is only to be seen in churches, but this one is an exception. It depicts characters and symbols that reflect the values of Bulgarians at the time, their perceptions of the world; of professional, personal and social realization.

The_Wheel_of_life_LekovaHouse

  • Eat “Eggs in Panagyurishte”(in Bulgarian:“Yaitsa po panagyurski”). It’s a special dish, which is very typical for our cuisine and originates form Panagyurishte. It’s so yummy!
  • Walk around and get lost. We walked by the river during the night. I looked up and there were like a million stars…

3 thoughts on “Visiting The City Of Panagyurishte, Bulgaria”

  1. My husband and I visited Panagyurishte with our two young children in 2011. Regrettably we were not there long enough to explore all the things you mention, though we spend quite a bit of time in the Petar Dudekov House Museum and the history museum. Aside from the beautiful views provided by the memorial commemorating the April uprising, I can also recommend it for a reason only appreciated by someone with visiting with young children. Because the memorial is on a hill above the main square, there is a lengthy set of stairs leading straight up – this requires much counting and competitive racing up and down. There are enormous granite sculptures – this requires much superhero scaling and balancing (e.g., Spiderman skills). And there are grassy hills that allowed my children to prove their hypothesis that these were indeed the absolute best for rolling down at great speed. So there is something in Panagyurishte for everyone!

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  2. Thank you for this wonderful article and pictures. My wife and I lived in Panagyurishte with a host family during our training period for the US Peace Corps in 2002. It’s our adopted home town. It was there, sipping coffee on a cobblestone patio near the historical museum, that we first heard the story of God having overlooked the Bulgarians when he was making places for people. When they asked Him about it, He gave them a special piece of heaven, a place he had been saving for Himself. It was easy to believe, there in the early spring sunshine with birds singing and trees coming into bloom. With all the history, museums and monuments though, that’s just the surface. The warmth and generosity of the people we knew there was the real treasure. We hope to visit again this year.

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