The Village of Dobarsko - Touching the Eternity

Novinite Insider » DESTINATIONS | April 20, 2007, Friday // 00:00
Bulgaria: The Village of Dobarsko - Touching the Eternity Photo by www.dobarsko.org

The village of Dobarsko is nestled in the south foot of the holy Rila Mountains at the altitude of 1070 meters and overlooks the endless horizons of the pearl of Bulgarian mountains Pirin and wide Rodopi Mountains. It is only 17 km away from the town of Razlog and the modern ski resort Bansko.

The village is famous mostly for its churches, one of which - "St. Teodor Tiron and Teodor Stratilat" is included in the list of Bulgaria 's 100 national tourist objects and in the UNESCO's World heritage list.

The three-decker sanctuary, built in 1614, is half dug into the ground, as the builders didn't want to attract Ottoman authorities' attention. The beautifully preserved murals of the church depict scenes from Jesus Christ's life. There are portraits of 460 saints on the walls and the dome.

One of the paintings has drawn the public attention for ages, triggering a lot of controversies between the local people and the clergy. The icon shows Jesus, who steps off a vehicle, which resembles a space rocket. The clergy, however, denies such statement, claiming "the rocket" is just radiance around Jesus' silhouette.

The legend tells that the soldiers from Tsar Samuil's army, who were blinded by the Byzantine Emperor Basil 11 after being defeated in battle, founded this marvelous place because of the water with healing powers that springs in the churchyard of St. Theodor Tiron and Theodor Stratilat church.

Dobarsko Renaissance church "Sretenie Gospodne" is called by the locals the "new church" as it was built in 1860. Its richly decorated iconostasis has been made by artists from the famous Bansko School.

The sights, which mostly attract many foreign tourists in the village of Dobarsko are the nearby waterfall Strokaloto, the rock phenomena and the Rome glaze-kiln. There are also eight consecrated grounds in the vicinity of the village. In one of them /500 m away/ was rebuilt the church of Uspenie Presveta Bogoroditsa.

Some of the most impressive routes that could be started from the village lead to Rila Monastery, the Seven Rila Lakes and the park of the dancing bears in the town of Semkovo.

The visitors of this magnificent place are given the opportunity to get acquainted with numerous Bulgarian traditions, which are jealously preserved in Dobarsko. Studying and singing local folklore songs together with the choir of the Dobarsko's grandmothers, picking mushrooms and herbs, milking a cow and horse riding are a small part of the adventures one can experience.

The hospitable local people welcome everybody in the cozy mehana (pub) with homemade bacon, flat sausage and black-pudding, which are the main ingredients of the typical for the region kapama dish.

The village of Dobarsko is among those beauty spots in Bulgaria, in which the spirit of the old traditions and the contemporary way of life coexists in harmony. Its virgin nature in combination with the rich history makes the village a destination to remember.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Destinations » Be a reporter: Write and send your article

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria