January 29th 2025
Bulgaria
Traveler: Katherina Zdravkov
Destination: Bulgaria
On an annual trip to visit her family in Bulgaria, Katherina looked at architecture throughout Bulgaria with a newfound appreciation following her architectural education.
Visiting my family in Bulgaria is always an experience full of joy, heartwarming moments, laughter, and new discoveries. Since graduating from architecture school a year and a half ago, my last two trips there have been with eyes opened toward the architectural treasures and jewel boxes that I had never noticed. My passion for vernacular architecture and traditional urbanism manifested itself in an excess of photos while there… so here are some of my favorites to give a quick glimpse into the beautiful place that is Bulgaria!

Parisian Boulevard-Style Building


Left: Palazzo-Style Government Building; Right: View towards government buildings from arcade

Sofia Central Mineral Bath


Central Sofia Market Hall

I thought this coffee kiosk was so cute - I wanted to include it here!

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Sofia (София), as Bulgaria’s capital and home to most of the population, is where I spend most of my time while in the country. The city reveals many external cultural influences in its architecture, creating interest around every corner, particularly in the civic realm and adjacent quarters.



It was neat to see how the vernacular architecture took different shapes in Koprivshtitsa.


Being able to see this important revolutionary monument against the beautiful backdrop of the town at sunset was a favorite part of the trip.

I loved these fun colors at the town center!
Koprivshtitsa (Копривщица), an hour and a half from Sofia, is reached by a scenic drive. This small town, nestled among the Sredna Gora (Средна гора) mountains, possesses a charming character and an important role in Bulgaria’s liberation from the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century. A visit here with my parents, barring a bit of inclement weather, is consistently peaceful, allowing me to fully take in the regional architecture, bright color palette, rich history, and beautiful landscape.


Check out this quirky vernacular architecture in the walkable center of Plovdiv!


I loved the way the ornamentation was uniquely painted on this ethnographic museum and this church.

The Dzhumaya Mosque

The ancient stadium of Philippopolis


The ancient theatre of Philippopolis
Plovdiv (Пловдив), Bulgaria’s cultural capital, is vibrant and boasts a variety of styles. I was struck by the very pedestrian-friendly areas at the center, which afforded me the opportunity to take in the wide range of architectural character at a more pleasant pace.
What most fascinated me was Plovdiv’s ancient history, illustrated by several open-access exhibits including a stadium and a theater. These remains offer us marks of Thracian, Greek, and Roman civilizations and their impacts on what was known as Philippopolis. As Rome is referred to as the City of Seven Hills, so too is Plovdiv, due to Philippopolis’s establishment in this fertile region on seven syenite hills.
Seeing firsthand these ancient civilizations’ reach into Bulgaria deepened my interest in the city, and I became enamored with the dynamic spirit of Plovdiv. Part of this I attribute to the beautiful views created by the topography of Plovdiv. I appreciated, in a day of traversing the city on foot at a leisurely rate, how much I was able to take in. I saw a great deal of regional architecture when passing by preserved historic houses and visiting the regional ethnographic museum. I was also impressed by the mosque, churches, and quirky vernacular architecture I encountered.




HC!!

Bulgaria is famed for its rose-growing industry and role in producing about half of the world's rose oil. And they're so beautiful!



Turkish Coffee!
These beautiful adventures could perhaps be surpassed by what I consider my “happy place” in Bulgaria: the Black Sea coast. Because I have early memories of going to the country’s eastern coast, hand-in-hand with those of growing up on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the first glimpses of the Black Sea water on the horizon from the car always stir up feelings of nostalgia and tranquility. It then comes as no surprise that my time in Nessebar (Несебър), Sozopol (Созопол), and Kiten (Китен) contained some of my most treasured moments, particularly in Nessebar. I had not been to the city since I was a very young child, so I had no memory of it. Now with a great appreciation of historic preservation, I was elated to learn that the peninsula of Nessebar is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. This meant that I could witness layers of rich architectural heritage side by side while enjoying Turkish coffee and taking in beautiful waterfront views.


Sozopol also bears interesting vestiges of past civilizations in what can be seen of its former role as a fortified city.


Here are some pages from my travel sketchbook!
I hope you enjoyed this voyage eastward from Sofia to Sozopol – thank you for joining me in Bulgaria!
