Bulgaria Holiday

Bansko is among those Bulgarian towns which Fate had destined to play a noteworthy role in the historic development of our, nation especially during the colossal national upsurge during the Revival Period. Its achievements cannot be touched by the relentless passage of time. They lie in the unique houses of Banskalii with their tall pinewood gates and carved-wood ceilings, in the architecture and the fine iconostasis of churches, in the daring brushstroke of the icons painted by local iconographers, for here Past and Present are interwoven in a way that is at once distinctive and original.

The town's history dates back in ancient times. According to the many legends and local tales, some of which claim historic truthfulness, the founding of Bansko can be traced back to the period of Ottoman invasion (15th-16th century). It was back then that Bansko was mentioned for the first time as a centralised settlement in an official document (an Ottoman register of 1576). Prior to that time the population inhabited several separate small hamlets. The lack of any data on the development of the region in earlier times was to some extent filled by archaeological excavation and research. Findings were diverse and encompass all historic periods from prehistory to antiquity to the Middle Ages. They come as proof that Banskalii did not spring up in our history out of the blue but had evolved through the centuries. Today's town is the centre of a "necklace" of ancient settlements and was obviously founded by their inhabitants.

The closeness of the proud Pirin mountain range brings a spirit of freedom-loving and broadness of views, it makes people strong and independent. During the bleak years of Ottoman rule, Bansko became a stronghold of Bulgarian spirit. The settlement enjoyed a status of limited autonomy within the Ottoman Empire.

Banskalii's spirit of entrepreneurship and their strife for innovation were the foundation for the unbelievable economic and spiritual upsurge in the town around the end of the 17th and beginning of 18th centuries. A wealthy class of craftsmen and merchants emerged; they carried goods with caravans from the Aegean to Central and Western Europe, some of them opened their own offices there. Through them the achievements of European material and spiritual culture reached Bansko and played a beneficial role on its population. The strong drive in the development of arts, publishing, education, the overall material well-being of locals brought the Pirin town to its zenith and gave it an important role to play in the processes of formation and establishment of the Bulgarian nation. It is not just by historic chance that Paisii Hilendarski, the spiritual father of the Bulgarian Revival, was born here exactly. He wrote his "Istoriya Slavenobolgarskaya" (History of Slavo-Bulgars) - short but grand by historic measures, and raised it like a lighted torch in the darkness of the five-century oppression. His worthy successor was another of the great sons of Bansko, the patriarch of modern Bulgarian education - Neofit Rilski. His activity was wide-ranging and his contribution to the spiritual growth of our nation and the establishment of Bulgarian national identity was truly great.

Source from http://www.bansko.bg/ (official pages)

Accommodation: