The Town
Lovech's bustling centre is largely modern, an area of concrete and steel grouped around the pedestrianized ul. Targovska . Heading south along here, you'll soon reach the older parts of town, coming first to the Pokritya most or "Covered Bridge", the only one of its kind in the Balkans, and of which the locals are extremely proud. Spanning the River Osam to link the new town with the old, it was originally designed by National Revival architect Kolyo Ficheto in 1874. The bridge burned down in 1925, and the present reincarnation is the result of successive renovations - the most recent of which resulted in the arcade of boutiques, craft shops and cafes that the bridge now holds. At the eastern end of the bridge is pl. Todor Kirkov , named after the local revolutionary killed on this spot by the Turks in 1876 after taking part in the April Rising in Tryavna. Just behind the square is the town Art Gallery (Mon-Sat 9am-noon & 1-6pm; free), which houses a display of rustic scenes, many by local artists, and regularly rotating exhibitions. One block south, the National Revival-style facade of a kindergarten announces the boundary of the Varosh, which stretches up the flanks of the hill from here. Most of the buildings in the Varosh are in fact modern constructions executed in traditional style, but an attempt has been made to preserve the atmosphere of the previous century in the narrow cobbled lanes that run up the hillside. One of them, ul. Marin Pop Lukanov, leads to a couple of buildings occupied by the Ethnographic Museum (summer daily 8am-noon & 2-6pm; winter daily 8am-noon & 1-5pm; US$1.50). Both of the wooden houses which make up the complex were built in the first half of the nineteenth century, on seventeenth-century foundations, although they have been furnished to represent two distinct, later periods. The first house has been kitted out in the style of the late nineteenth century, when even wealthy Bulgarians seemingly spent much of their lives close to the floor, eating their food from low wooden tables and sleeping on low beds. The changing lifestyles brought about by turn-of-the-century affluence are shown by the imported Viennese furniture that fills a couple of set-piece rooms, along with an enormous British iron bedstead. The little workroom also contains some costly imported devices of the period, including one of the earliest examples of a British-made steam iron. Below in the cellar are a wine press, vats and huge barrels, as well as a rakiya still and a soap-making vessel in which fats were squeezed together and blended with natural perfumes. The second house has been restored to its 1930s appearance, and has a markedly more "Western" feel, with a modern kitchen range and a cosy little study lined with books. The comfortably furnished salon is inhabited by a family of costumed mannequins, displaying the fashions of the day, all donated by the former occupants, the Rashevs. Just up the hill from here, a modern concrete structure houses the Vasil Levski Museum (Tues-Sun 8am-noon & 1-5pm; US$1). Between 1869 and 1872, Levski was chiefly responsible for establishing a network of revolutionary cells in Bulgaria, which collected arms and recruits in preparation for a national uprising. The organization's largest base was in Lovech, where Levski usually stayed at the home of Nikola Sirkov, arriving and leaving in disguise. In 1870, the revolutionary committee in Lovech assumed leadership of the nationwide movement, becoming, in effect, the provisional government of the revolutionary underground. In 1872, however, the Turkish intelligence services managed to ensnare many local leaders, ultimately including Levski himself, who was betrayed and arrested at the neighbouring village of Kakrina. Following interrogation and torture, he was hanged on a winter's morning in Sofia in 1873. Despite the lack of captions in any language other than Bulgarian, several of the museum's exhibits are self-explanatory. A tunic of the First Bulgarian Legion recalls Levski's days in the 1860s fighting with fellow exiles in Serbia; there are copies of Levski's letters bearing the lion seal of the revolutionary committee; and the Lovech committee's original printing press - a wooden tray no bigger than a hand into which tiny lines of type were set - accompanied by the amazingly professional-looking documents thus produced. Levski's sabre and dagger lie downstairs, perched atop a shrine-like lump of stone. Right next door to the museum is the Uspenska church , which has been undergoing restoration over the last few years, and is only sporadically open to visitors. The interior is a fresh and colourful showcase of contemporary artistry, the walls covered in a mixture of restored and completely new murals, while the ceiling and patches elsewhere are still to be attended to. It's interesting to note the continuity in the style and subject matter of the icons, and one of the most striking of the modern works shows Christ's entry into Jerusalem. Further up the hill, steps ascend to the tall and heroic Levski statue on Stratesh hill, where townsfolk come to admire the view. Higher again, up a badly pot-holed path, are the partly reconstructed walls of a medieval Bulgarian fortress , occupying a commanding position on the summit: Byzantine attempts to strangle the Second Bulgarian Kingdom at birth ended here in 1187, when they were forced to sign a peace treaty in Lovech castle recognizing Bulgarian independence.
Your Tip for Lovech
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Lovech - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Lovech - visit the main Lovech forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Lovech webguide section below! Thanks.
|
