Sights
Belogradchik rocks
The
most famous natural phenomena in the Belogradchik
and its region are the Belogradchik Rocks. This rocky fairy-tale is spread
from west to the east, from Mount Vedernik around Belogradchik, Borovitsa
village to Belotintsi village. The region is 30km. long and 3km. wide. The
most awesome rocks are around the town - The Madonna, The Monks, The Rider,
The Dervish, The Bear, Adam and Eve, Haidut Velko, The Castle, The Little
Shepherd, The Mushrooms, The Lion and many others. Very interesting are the
natural bonsais - pines that grow on the walls and tops of the rocks. They
are 200-300 years old, but due to the lack of nutrition they are very small.
Belogradchik fortress
One
of the most significant historical monuments in Belogradchik is the
Belogradchik fortress. It’s occupies a strategic position
between The balkam passages “Sveti Nikola” and “Kadu-Boaz”. It has risen
during the 1 st – 3rd A. D. centuries. For the better
fortification in the first two centuries of their domination, the Romans
tried hard to built a good fortifying system and comfortable roads. The
fortress had to control this part of the road from Ratsiaria city (near
today’s Archar village, Vidin district). Romans built the highest part of
the fortress called the Citadel. Some meters away from the fortress in
southwestern direction, on a lonely, steep rock are the ruins from another
ancient fortification that helped the Romans (The Latin fortress). The
fortress was active also during the late antiquity . The ruler of Vidin –
Ivan Sratsimir (1356–1396) evaluated its strategic significance. During his
time it was additionally reinforced and enlarged. Also in 1396 the fortress
was captured by Ottomans and partially destroyed. The overall reconstruction
and enlargement has been started in 1805 and was completed in 1837. The fate
foreordained an important role to this fortress during the Serbian –
Bulgarian war or 1885, when under its walls were defeated the Serbian
forces. The Belogradchik fortress situated at an altitude of 610 m above the
sea level and consists of three yards with total area of 10 210 sq.m and one
separate fortification. A memorable view is revealed from the highest part
of the fortress called First Plate.
Working hours: 08:00 h -19:00 h (every day)
Tel: +359 936 30 01
History Museum
Another
important memorial of culture in the town is the Panov’s house. It
was built in about 1810. After its restoration in 1970, an exposition of 8
000 exponents, reflecting the life, occupation and the fights of the people
from this region in XVIII century and XIX century is exhibited there. The
fights for national freedom from 1850, the Liberation of Bulgaria and the
region from the Turkish yoke and the Serbian-Bulgarian war are widely
covered in the museum.
Working hours: 09:00 h - 12:00 h and 14:00 h - 17:00 h
Tel: +359 936 34 69
Nature and Science Museum
The
only museum of natural science in northwestern Bulgaria works in the town.
Over 3000 exponents are shown there. They cover the most attractive part of
the rich biological variety of this part of Bulgaria.
Working hours: 08:00 h - 12:00 h and 14:00 h - 17:00 h
Tel: +359 936 3231
Astronomical observatory
Among
the beautiful Belogradchik Rocks, the dome of the astronomy observatory
appears white. The observatory has three telescopes – 60cm. Kasergen,
36.5cm. Celestron, 15cm. Kasergen. The Moon, the ring of Saturn, the
satellites of Jupiter, Venus’ sickle, comets, stars, galaxies are observed.
Working hours: after 08:00 h PM
Tel: +359 936 3372
Art gallery
The art gallery of the town has very rich permanent exposition with paintings of famous Bulgarian artists like Vladimir Dimitrov - The Master, Svetlin Rusev and others.
Working hours: 09:00 h - 12:00 h and 14:00h - 17:00 h
Tel: +359 936 30 42
Anishte site
The
Anishte site is of great cultural and historical significance and it is a
place for mass tourist visits. This is next to the Salash-Belogradchik road,
eastwards from Granichak village. Here they found ruins of an ancient
village: a separate building with 4 rooms. 300 m away from the building
mentioned above, there is a second group similar in location to the first
one. There are a lot of pottery fragments and coins from III century, as
well as ornaments. It is considered that it was a roman villa on the road
Ratsiaria - Naisus (now - Nish) built and used by Romans in II-III century
A.D. and probably destroyed by barbarians’ invasions in the end of III
and the beginning of IV century.
Magura cave
Magura cave
is situated near Rabisha village, 25km. away northwestwards from
Belogradchik, and 35km. away from Vidin. Being a monument of culture and a
national tourist sight, it is one of the biggest caves in Bulgaria. The
length of the galleries found up to now is about 2500m. There are big and
small galleries in the cave. The main ones are: The Triumph Hall, the Bat
gallery, the Stalactones Hall, the Gallery with the drawings, the Fallen Pine
Hall, the Poplar Hall, the Throne Hall, the Ceremonial Hall, the Fjords
Corridor. The formations in the Magura cave are fantastic -
stalactites, stalagmites, stalactones - the Madonna, the Dragon, the snowy
little pines, lakes, cave pearls, “cave milk”. There are
unique stone drawings in the cave. They date back to different ages - from
the Epipaleolith (10000 BC) to the early Bronze Age. The drawings show
religious and hunting scenes, numbers information, dancing male and female
figures, two-headed female image, hunters, animals, stars, tools, plants.
The researches in the cave show that it was inhabited 12 000 years ago.
Working hours: 09:00 h -16:00 h
Tel: +35999329 213