ABOUT THE TOWN OF TRYAVNA
The town of Tryavna (population: 12 000 inhabitants) is located in the northern folds of the picturesque
Stara planina Mountain in the valley of Trevnenska River, 440 meters above the sea level. The town lies 245 km from both –
Sofia and
Varna, 170 km from
Plovdiv, 219 km from
Bourgas, and 130 km from
Russe. Tryavna is an administrative centre.
Mountain air, evergreen forests, crystal waters, and the beauty of the Bulgarian National Revival houses – all these attract to Tryavna. It is still carries the spirit of its ancestors – famous masons, craftsmen and icon makers.
HISTORY
Traces of the Thracian and Roman ages can be found in the historical and cultural layers on which the town sprang up. Major roads cut trough the Tryavna pass to connect Misia and Thrace. But according the legend the settlement originated during the 12 th century during the reign of the Assen brothers.
The earliest document to certify the existence of Tryavna dates back to 1565. During the Ottoman Rule Tryavna was a privileged settlement, whose inhabitants guarded the way through the Balkan to Odrin and Istanbul. Land was both scarce and barren, and this happened to be the main precondition for the rapid development of crafts. The settlement reached a particular fluorescence at the end of 18 th and at the beginning of the 19 th century.
It was the arts and crafts of building trade, wood-carving and icon painting that brought about the unfading glory of Tryavna and turned into a 2century major livelihood for the local population. It is not an accident that the well-known Tryavna art School was established there. It is the oldest one in Bulgaria. The names of the master builders Usta Dimitar, Usta Gencho, of the wood-carvers Dimitar Oshanetza, Papa Vitan, Pop Vitanov, and of the icon-painters Zaharievski, Minevski, Minchevski, Vitanovski, Venkovski, and Kanchevski brought the fame of the Tryavna Art School not only in Bulgaria, but also in Vlashko, Serbia, Turkey, and Persia.
The town is the birthplace of Levski’s associate Angel Kanchev, and of the eminent Bulgarian poet Pencho Slaveikov.
The first in the country children’s sanatorium for chest diseases was built up here with the donation of Tzaritza (the Queen) Ioanna.
LANDMARKS
The old part of Tryavna was proclaimed for an architectural reserve with about 140 monuments of the National Revival architecture.
Tryavna has preserved the only National Revival set-piece square named after Captain Dyado Nikola. The
Clock tower erected in 1844 along with the Arch bridge built in 1845 by Dimitar Sergiov have become into symbols of the town. The oldest building on the square is the church of
St.Archangel Michael being a national monument of culture from the Medieval period.
The
Tryavna school, built in 1839, ranked among the first secular schools in Bulgaria.
Raikova house-museum is a typical example of late National Revival architecture in Tryavna.
Daskalovata House is museum of woodcarving on “P. Slaveikov” str., is architecture monument. On the same street is the museum-house
Petko and Pencho Slaveikovi.
Kalinchevata House is another masterpiece of National Revival architecture in Tryavna. The
Museum of icon-painting is in the Czar’s chapel and treasures over 160 icons by old master icon painters. Part of the National Revival sat-piece by the central bridge is the
House-museum Angel Kanchev. In the close proximity is the oldest architectural monument in Tryavna -
Pop (priest)Angel's House. The
church St.George was constructed and designed by the master-builder Dimitar Sergiov between 1848- 1852. Interesting are also the “Dyadodobrev’s house” and The house-museum “Ivan Popdimitrov”.
TRANSPORT
Bus and railway transport. There are regular bus lines of
Gabrovo,
Dryanovo,
Veliko Tarnovo,
Plachkovtzi and other smaller settlements in the region.
The bus station ( +359 677/4378) and the railway station (+359 677/2510) are next to each other and they are located in the northern part of the town. Tryavna is station on the main railway line Russe – G. Oryahovitsa – Stara Zagora – Podkova.
SURROUNDING AREAS
The recreation town of
Plachkovtzi is situated at the distance of 7 km to the south of Tryavna. The architectural reserve of
Bojentzi is 28 km west of Tryavna along the road through
Dryanovo. About 18 km north-west are located the cave
Bacho Kiro and
Dryanovo Monastery. The spa resort of
Voneshta voda is 15 km east from Tryavna.
Description
