Asenovgrad in the arms of spring
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Asenovgrad – this small town at the foot of the Rhodope Mountains can become one of your favorite directions for traveling in Bulgaria. Especially in the spring, when it smells like blooming lilacs and linden, and forest routes in the area are the reason not to go without hiking shoes in your luggage.
Everyone knows this is the city of Asen’s Fortress, but few have heard of The Paleontology Museum « Dimitar Kovachev »S It is located away from the center and works on Saturday until 4 pm (it is closed on Sunday), making it a great start to your Asenovgrad route. The museum bears the name of the local biology teacher Dimitar Kovachev, who, together with his students from the high school in Asenovgrad, discovered many of the exhibits during the paleontological expeditions organized by him.
Already at your entrance, an impressive view is welcomed – a skeleton copy of the high 4 meters of fossil animal dinoterium (you may have seen the original in the building of Sofia University « St. Kl. Ohridski »). In the other halls you can see the quirky animals that wandered through the Bulgarian lands millions of years ago.
From there, continue to pedestrian centerthat extends along the banks of the Tea River. The waters of the river are noisy under city bridges, and overhanging flowering trees look at them.
Stop in The Museum of Historyto look into the nearly 9000-year history of the area and see kitchen utensils, weapons and decorations from the Assen Fortress before you go to it.
In the afternoon, keep your Assen FortressS Spring times here smell of lilac, and among the stone steps and rocks the cuckoo grapes and other flowers bloom. Close to the highest part of the remains, look at 360 degrees, and you will find out why the fortress is erected right here. The gaze covers the entire mountain passage – at its bottom are the red roofs of today’s Asenovgrad, and its tall parts are lost among the folds of the Rhodope Mountains. There was no enemy to sneak past the fortress and go unnoticed. The building, whose outlines we all connect with the fortress, is actually on the Holy Virgin Petrich Church – a two -storey building with beautiful murals, some of which have been preserved to this day.
The fortress is located 2 km from Asenovgrad, and you can reach it by asphalt road or on foot. If you walk, the distance from the city center takes about 40 minutes. Comfortable shoes are a must, especially in wet weather, when the stairs of the fortress are very slippery.
Sunny afternoons on weekends are ideal to return to Asenovgrad and pull a chair in a cafe around the ice cream river or a cup of coffee. For dinner, be sure to order from the legendary Stanimashi sarmichki prepared in Guvech – so delicate and fragrant do not make them anywhere else in Bulgaria (Stanimaka is the old name of Asenovgrad).
Those who are not only as long as they look at the Rhodopes from the city can set aside another day to reach the marked route from Asenovgrad to Bachkovo village (From where it can then continue to Bachkovo Monastery). The trail is a series of descents and ascents, panoramic views and old Roman roads. The whole distance takes about 4 hours with a quiet move.
