Koprivshtitsa, The most beautiful town in Bulgaria?

Valle de Koprivshtitsa.

Typical village of Koprivshtitsa.

Is Koprivshtitsa the most beautiful town in Bulgaria?…visit it and judge for yourself…

First of all, clarify that although officially Koprivshtitsa has city category, it is a small population, of some 2.500 population, that is to say, that is still a large town, even more so when all the aesthetics of the “city” It is from old houses, cobbled streets and quiet atmosphere, nothing to do with what we assimilate as “city”.

We recognize that the name of this city is unpronounceable for a Spanish speaker, comes from the Bulgarian word “nettle” What does it mean “nettle”, therefore it is the city of nettles, we assume that in the past when it was named, the zone was abundant in this plant… Certainly the surroundings of the city are an orchard throughout the year. By the way do not confuse “Koprivshtitsa” of Bulgaria with the Serbian people of “Koprivshtitsa”, nor with the people of “Kovachevitsa”, The latter is in Bulgaria and it is also beautiful but it is located in the south of the country, not in the center like “Koprivshtitsa”.

House-museum of Koprivshtitsa.

Koprivshtitsa was founded in the 14th century, although the current architecture of the city is related to the general historical development of the architecture of the Bulgarian Renaissance, when after liberation from the Ottoman invasion there was a resurgence of Bulgarian culture and arts. Rich merchants settled in this city, artists, politicians, etc. who built unique houses, today many of them can be visited as museum-houses. If you want to know which are the most interesting house-museums to visit, get in touch with us, obviously in one day you cannot see all of them and you have to select the “top”.

Historic center of Koprivshtitsa.

In 1952 was declared the only city-museum in the country, and from 1971 is an architectural and historical reserve that has nothing more and nothing less than 388 architectural monuments, historical, artistic and ethnographic. That is, if you see the small size of this city, gives the impression that each house is protected for its cultural or historical value… a luxury that very few peoples in Europe boast…In the surroundings there are several protected areas, perfect for lovers of ecological tourism and Nature, where can they be done hiking trails spectacular all year round, even in summer because the green of the fields is maintained thanks to the mild climate of the area.

House-museum of Koprivshtitsa.

Many old houses in the city have been painted in different colors (but with good taste, not random or anarchic, but with a specific tonality that is repeated in several houses, they basically use indigo and ocher, colors both of natural origin), this together with its cobbled streets, the streams that run through it, the village atmosphere of a lifetime, makes a stroll through Koprivshtitsa a true journey back in time, but not at all artificial as it happens in some restored towns, but the authenticity that surrounds us immediately takes us to the past… As soon as you can see an old woman selling her hand-woven tablecloths on the street, How can a cart loaded with alfalfa, pulled by a horse that comes from the surrounding farms, pass before you (see video at the end of the article).

House-museum in Koprivshtitsa.

In the city, apart from the old houses and the beautiful landscapes, travelers can visit more than forty fountains, built in different periods of the history of the city and that are a sample of the wealth in groundwater that this country owns. Another highlight are the Koprivshtitsa bridges. There are many arched stone bridges, built on the small rivers that pour their waters into the river “Topolnitsa”. The most popular is the "Kalachev Bridge", known as the "First Shotgun". Here, the 20 April 1876 the first shot rang, which started the April Uprising of the Bulgarians, who fought for the Liberation of the Ottoman rule. The uprising in Koprivshtitsa did not have a happy ending, as the revolt was put down by the Ottomans and most of those involved were imprisoned or executed, However, it was the germ of the definitive liberation of the country. Therefore mention “Koprivshtitsa” in Bulgaria it is a source of pride for all Bulgarians and is almost a pilgrimage place for adults and also for children who come on a school excursion.

Stone bridge “The first shotgun” in Koprivshtitsa.

However, although it seems that the city is very touristy, it is not really overcrowded, on weekends some Bulgarians come to walk around it and during the week a bus with schoolchildren comes, but little else. To my surprise when I visited her, it was midsummer, I hardly found a few Bulgarian tourists and some small group of Japanese (They are all over the world!, even in this hidden city…haha). Those yes, the city fills up on the occasion of the National Folklore Festival, but it is celebrated only every 5 years and the next one is in August 2020.

Former municipal school of Koprivshtitsa.

Koprivshtitsa is located a 110 km from the capital, Sofia, It is not much but by road that becomes 2 hours of travel because it is not a highway, but a national highway and then a regional section. That is if we go by car because in public transport you have to take a train and a couple of buses to get there and it takes forever… Also as it is located in an area that is not a passage between the main cities of the country, is a little hidden and maybe because of that, despite its geographical proximity to Sofia, it is a little visited tourist destination for what it deserves, but I hope it stays like this for a long time, like a hidden gem…

Koprivshtitsa town in Bulgaria

To experience the authentic atmosphere of the city, we recommend that you visit it in person, do it before it becomes famous among the tourist masses…

How to visit it.

Map of Koprivshtitsa

Contact us if you want us to take you there and take a guided tour of its picturesque house-museums: Ask for a budget…

…