Art & Gallery
The first museum building housing the National Gallery was the Royal Palace. Today, temporary exhibitions of Bulgarian and foreign art are on display in its halls.
The Palace was built immediately after the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule (1878) and following the selection of Sofia as the capital (1879).
The first Bulgarian Knyaz Alexander I Battenberg (1879–1886) assigned the Viennese architect Viktor Rumpelmayer (1830–1885) to reconstruct the former Turkish Konak. On 26 December 1882, the Palace was officially opened. The stone foundations and part of the main façade from the previous building are preserved. The new look embraced a variety of architectural elements in the spirit of the modern blend of neo-styles. A new wing was added to the building on the northwest. On its second floor are the throne room, ballrooms, reception hall, a dining room, and a winter garden. Downstairs are the palace offices. In the words of contemporaries, the building had acquired the charm of French palaces from the time of the Enlightenment. Today, the National Gallery is located in the central building and in this wing.
The second stage of construction took place during the time of Knyaz Ferdinand I Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1887–1918). To the design of Austrian architect Friedrich Grünanger (1856–1929), between 1894 and 1896, the three-storey north-eastern building was erected to house the apartments of the Knyaz’ family, with a library, educational salons, games and entertainment rooms, a dining room and a reception hall, a covered entrance for the carriages and two winter gardens, guest apartments, staff rooms, and a lift. This wing now houses the National Ethnographic Museum.
After 9 September 1944, this most representative building in the capital became the seat of the Council of Ministers. In 1953, the state granted the former palace to the National Art Gallery and the National Ethnographic Museum.
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Square 500 – the newest and largest building of the National Gallery, was opened on May 25, 2015. In 28 halls on four levels, 1700 works of Bulgarian and foreign artists are exhibited from the rich fund of the gallery, which has over 42 000 museum units . The beginning of the Bulgarian collection dates back to the 1890s. The majority of the foreign collection was formed in the 1980s.
The exhibition includes works depicting the Bulgarian art from the middle of the 19th century and the 20th century, European art from the 15th-20th centuries, samples from Asia, Africa and America.
History of the building
The proposal of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Petko Karavelov for the establishment of the State Printing Works was voted by the National Assembly on May 31, 1880. The project in neoclassical style of the Viennese architect Friedrich Schwangberg was realized in the period 1881-1883. In the spring of 1944 in the air bombardments over Sofia the building of “St. Alexander Nevsky “was partially destroyed. Along with its reconstruction at the end of the 1940s, a new building was built on Vasil Levski Blvd, where the Technical University was housed.
In the early 1980s, the old State Printing Works was rebuilt by arch. Nikola Nikolov for the newly created National Gallery for Foreign Art. The idea of an architectural complex with museum functions, including both buildings, has been developing since 1999. The public design contest in 2010 was won by arch. Yanko Apostolov. The reconstruction of the project took place in 2012-2014.
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On October 22, 1928, with the provision of the Mayor of Sofia, Vladimir Vazov established a museum with three departments: museum, library and archive. The establishment of a picture gallery is part of the museum.
Initially the library and the museum are located in a building that is not present today, near the corner of the streets Graf Ignatiev and GS Rakovski. In 1941, the library, the museum, the archive and the gallery were housed in a building in Banski 3 Square. The first permanent art gallery in Bulgaria was arranged there with the art collection.
In 1948 a part of the gallery’s fund was transferred to the newly-formed National Art Gallery. As an independent institution, the Sofia City Art Gallery was established in 1952.
In 1973 she was given the building of the former city casino on Gurko 1. The official opening of the exhibition was in 1977.
Today the Sofia Art Gallery has one of the most significant collections of Bulgarian art: 3500 paintings, 800 sculptures, 2800 paintings and drawings. In 2004, the “Contemporary Art and Photography” Fund was established.
The primary task of the Sofia City Art Gallery is to preserve, preserve and study the artistic heritage. The specialists working in the institution take care of her collection and her presentation to the public through exhibitions, catalogs and publications.
The gallery has 1100 square meters of exhibition space, divided into four distinct spaces. There are about 30 exhibitions organized annually. A substantial part of the exhibitions are occupied by works from the collections of the gallery. We also present individual, collective and general exhibitions of Bulgarian and foreign artists. The SIGG program covers events and personalities from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. In recent years, a special focus in her policy has been the study of the art of today and the work with young authors.
The Sofia City Art Gallery is a museum with a long tradition. Its role is to present the facts of the Bulgarian cultural history in an analytical and contemporary way, as well as to actively intervene in the artistic processes through original and memorable projects.
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The Balabanov House is representative for the development of the Plovdiv symmetrical house and is one of the richest models in which the spatial composition is characterized by the equal participation of two mutually perpendicular axes, that of the ground floor and that of the floor. It is characterized by the extremely rich development of the architectural details of the plastic and flat decoration. This decision of the house is exaggerating the functions of a home and is approaching by volume and functions to a public building.
It was built at the beginning of the 19th century and had three owners. The last of these was the merchant Luca Balabanov, whose name he still carries today. Its dimensions are impressive – it is built on an area of 546 sq.m. m.
The house has the unenviable fate to be demolished to the ground in the 1930s and restored in the 1970s to photographs, sketches under the guidance of well-known Plovdiv architects.
Today, in the house on the first floor there is a permanent exhibition of contemporary Bulgarian art. The second floor, served for guests, also furnished in the city’s Renaissance lifestyle, is one of the most popular chamber scenes in the city for cultural events – chamber concerts, theater productions, exhibitions and business meetings. This is where the International Festival “Days of Music at Balabanov House” is set to begin, which for several years animates the space of the house with its spring and autumn edition. The two halls on the ground floor are designed for temporary art exhibitions.
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Art Gallery – The Philippopolis Museum is located in an old Renaissance house, declared an architectural monument of culture in Plovdiv. The first floor is used as an exhibition hall where famous contemporary Bulgarian artists present their works in individual exhibitions. Art objects from ceramics, wood and bronze are also available.
In the museum part on the second floor there are pictures of most of the most famous Bulgarian artists from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
At the Museum of Art Center Philippopolis, on the example of the largest museums and galleries in Europe and the world, there are organized presentations of books, seminars, cocktails, wedding receptions and corporate events. The fully restored Renaissance house in its original style is not only a mausoleum of art, but also a place for meetings and cultural life.
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This remarkable house was built in 1860 and belonged to Dr Stoyan Chomakov (1817-1893), an eminent public figure from the National Revival period, one of the most prominent fighters for an independent Bulgarian church. He has studied medicine in Italy and then in Paris he has specialized in surgery. Dr Chomakov was the head of the first Bulgarian hospital, founded in Plovdiv after the Liberation.
Built during three years (1858-1860), the house is a typical representative of the late symmetrical Revival period houses with imposing architecture and interiors. After the Liberation, around the turn of the century, the house was consigned a summer residency of Tsar Ferdinand.
Since 1984 it has been turned into a permanent exposition for the largest collection of paintings by the great Bulgarian artist, a most authentic and original 20th century painter, Zlatyu Boyadziev (1903-1976). The painter’s work has been organized around several cycles of paintings i.e. theBresovo cycle, which has been permanent through all his life, the Mining cycle with multi-figure compositions and industrial landscapes in the background, and a Romanian cycle, distinctive with its expressive technique.
Zlatyu Boyadzhiev was born in the town of Bresovo. He finished in 1925 the Secondary School of Commerce in Plovdiv. In 1932 he graduated from the Fine Arts Academy and was employed as a teacher. Zlatyu Boyadjiev was affectionate for his country and its people, and put man in the centre of his works.
The severe stroke, the painter suffered in 1951 entailed the paralysis on the right side of his body. This fatal moment has divided his work into two main periods. The neoclassical approach to the compositions depicting the peasants’ life is characteristic for the earlier period of the artist. During his second period his style has changed towards grotesque imagery and expressive colours. His new world was full of fairy tales, symmetry, balance and harmony.
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The Vazrazhdane Gallery at Vazrazhdane Chitalishte was founded on the 5th century. 1995, on the idea of the secretary of the Chitalishte Dimitar Atanasov, writer and journalist.
The Gallery makes a lot of effort and effort in producing catalogs and albums that will be a valuable source of knowledge for future generations interested in what is happening in our fine art today.
A large and varied collection of oil paintings, graphics and drawings, sculpture is maintained at the gallery depot, and the collection of the body is especially impressive for the collector. In 2010, Krasi and Sim Alexievi are curators of the National Autumn Exhibitions – Plovdiv with the project “The Body” after winning a municipal competition. 20 solo exhibitions on the subject were exhibited in 5 houses in the Old Town.
In 2006, at the Night of Open Galleries and Museums, the gallery received the first prize – the sculpture “Flight over Plovdiv”, established by KCM Plovdiv, as the number one gallery.
In 2010, the Vazrazhdane Gallery was awarded a Gold Book badge and a special certificate for the honorary status of an institution of high prestige and public recognition in the field of culture, awarded by the Council of the European Scientific and Cultural Community – official representation in Sofia.
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In 1881 the National Library and Museum in Plovdiv acquired four copies of the donors’ portraits in the Boyana Church (1259) painted by the artist from Tryavna Simeon Ts. Simeonov. Later on, in 1911, an Art Department containing 25 artworks was set up at the museum. While Nikolay Rainov was the Chief Librarian (1922), the collection was enlarged with a lot of engravings, prints, lithographs, as well as paintings and graphic works by Nikolay Pavlovitch. From 1926 to 1931 the curator, Nikola Mavrodinov, added eight magnificent 16th century icons from Nessebar.
In 1930 Tsar Boris III bestowed on the National Library and Museum the Portrait of St Sophronius of Vratsa (1812) which is considered to be the first secular portrait in Bulgarian art.
On January 1st, 1950, a bureau named City Art Gallery, headed by the artist Angel Tomov, was set up at the Department of Science, Art and Culture at the City Council of Plovdiv.
The gallery, at that time referred to as State Art Gallery of Plovdiv, was officially opened on March 2nd, 1952. The first director was Georgi Tchaikovski.
In 1952 the gallery’s collection consisted of about 300 works acquired from the Archaeological Museum of Plovdiv, Ivan Vazov State Library in Plovdiv, the County Museum at the County Standing Committee of Plovdiv, the Plovdiv Municipal City Museum House (since 1949 Ethnographic Museum), the collection of the Department of Science, Art and Culture, the museum at St AugustineBoys’ College in Plovdiv, the National Art Academy in Sofia and the National Art Gallery in Sofia.
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The spiritual temple to the temple of Salvation
“We, lavished in our private interests and bewitched by our peculiar bends, leave not hours, but also for years to blow without working for our progress. In our country, everything falsifies, instead of doing our job. And that’s why we can not and we do not have anything. “
Hristo G. Danov
In 1850, pedestrians picked up a representative school building for their children. Worthy of him, as the first teacher, invited Hristo Danov (1828-1911), the famous for his literary and publishing activity, a revivalist. For his three-year patriotic service he managed to prepare future educators, educators, church activists and the nation’s liberation movement in the thriving settlement. So in history it remains like the “Danish School”.
The school “St. Cyril and Methodius “, or the so-called Danovo school in Perushtitsa, was built by Pashidik craftsmen in 1850 in the courtyard of the St. Archangels Michael and Gabriel Church with the materials remaining after the graduation and with the voluntary work of the pedestrians. As an architectural style, the building belongs to the so-called “Plovdiv Symmetrical House” with a stem-girder structure. The mixed construction adds stability to the building and protects the building from collapse and burning during the fighting in April 1876. The color of the facade is influenced by the Orient and has the symbolic meaning of a humanitarian building.
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With yellow pages, miraculously preserved The protocol book of the company of the Varna artists is a document that gives us valuable information about an embarrassing, not very distant but fading past.
After several unsuccessful attempts to create an organization, on the initiative of painters from Varna, on 14.06.1943 in the salon of the Male High School took place the constituent assembly of the company of the Varna artists. the goals of the company and the means of achieving them are defined by the speech of the elected President Stefan Gadularov on the day of saint on the patron saint of the company.
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The Burgas Art City Gallery is one of the oldest in Bulgaria. It is located in the city center in a former Jewish synagogue built at the beginning of last century. The permanent exhibition features over 2500 paintings, sculptures and works of fine art distributed on 3 floors as well as a valuable icon collection. The Gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday from 09:00 till 18:00.
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The Art Gallery of Sozopol, also called the Art Gallery, was established in 1991. It is housed in the building of the old St. Cyril and St. Methodius School. The permanent exhibition of the Art Gallery includes 287 works of painting, graphics and about 40 sculptures made of marble, granite, bronze and wood-plastic.
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Art Gallery Donation “Svetlin Rusev Collection” is an art gallery in the town of Pleven, Bulgaria. There are about 400 works of Bulgarian and foreign artists donated by the famous artist and collector Svetlin Rusev. It was discovered on July 12, 1984 and is located in a former public bath, built at the beginning of the 20th century under a project by Nikola Lazarov and functioning as a bathroom until 1970. [1]
On the first floor of the building are paintings of the most famous Bulgarian artists from the first half of the 20th century, including Zlatyu Boyadjiev, Tsanko Lavrenov, Sirak Skitnik, Kiril Petrov, Bencho Obreshkov, Dechko Uzunov, Vladimir Dimitrov – The Master and others.
The second floor is mainly for contemporary Bulgarian artists, such as Nikola Manev, Vesa Vassileva, Encho Pironkov and Georgi Bozhilov, but there are also exhibited works of the Viennese Secessionist Josef Bauer, as well as the oldest painting in the gallery, work of unknown French author of the 17th century.
The third level, located in the towers of the old bathroom, shows works by Bulgarian engravers such as Ilia Beshkov, Vladimir Dimitrov – Maistora and Sidonia Atanasova, paintings by famous foreign artists including Pablo Picasso, Francisco Goya, Honore Domie, Mark Chagall, Maurice Dioni , Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Salvador Dali, Renato Gutuzo, Eugene Delacroix, and small sculptures by Auguste Roden and Edgar Degas.
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Founded in 1958 at the initiative of artists working in the town as a branch of the Historical Museum – Pleven, Iliya Beshkov Art Gallery is housed in a specially built building in 1978 on “Skobelev” Blvd.
The permanent exposition of “Ilia Beshkov” gives an idea of the main stages and trends in the development of the Bulgarian fine art from the late 19th to the 70s of the 20th century. Beginning in the post-liberation period, with the names of the pioneers Nikolay Pavlovich, Anton Mitov and Ivan Murvichka, he goes through some of the most famous brush masters such as Stefan Ivanov, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Dimitrov – Maistora, Dechko Uzunov, Vasil Barakov, Bencho Obreshkov , Iliya Petrov, Nenko Balkanski, Stoyan Venev, Kiril Tsonev, Boris Ivanov, Zlatyu Boyadjiev, Kiril Petrov, Ruska Marinova, Vera Nedkova, Slavka Deneva, Ivan Nenov, Nayden Petkov and they come up with distinguished names in the contemporary Bulgarian painting, would take too much space.
Ilia Beshkov Art Gallery is an institution with a distinct and memorable presence in the cultural life of Central Northern Bulgaria, a leading cultural center in the region with fruitful cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, Union of Bulgarian Artists, National Art Gallery and related institutions country.
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The gallery was established as an art museum in Rousse in 1933. The initiators are a group of artists and awake citizens from Rousse. All of them have a tangible presence in the organized cultural life of the city, they support a number of the creative initiatives of the Ruse intellectuals, such as visits of the Bulgarian artists’ association, traditional Easter exhibitions and their own performances.
The permanent exhibition includes selected pictorial, sculptural and graphic works from the collections of the gallery. It allows to trace individual tendencies, trends and styles in the Bulgarian art during the first half of the 20th century – from academic realism through influences of impressionism and interpretations of “native” to intensive processes and new plastic quests in the 1930s years and the establishment of individual styles.
In the exposition dominate the favorite genres – the landscape (Dimitar Gyudjenov, Nikola Tanev, David Peretz, Veselin Staykov) and the portrait (Stefan Ivanov, Ilia Petrov, Elena Karamihaylova). Place also finds the naked figure, which forms as a new independent genre (Dechko Uzunov, Nikolay Vladov-Shmirgela).
Selected accents are the works of “Angelcelka”, “Peasant with a child on the back” and “Girl” by Vladimir Dimitrov-Maistora, who is a central figure in the art of the interwar period.
The compositions of Bencho Obreshkov, Zlatyu Boyadjiev, Nenko Balkanski, Mara Georgieva and Vaska Emanouilova enrich this small mosaic of new Bulgarian art.
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The Art Gallery was opened on 25.05.1962. Fervent participation in the creation of the fund of the newly created art gallery took the cultural and public figure Angel Budev. Collections of Mikhail Kremen and Bogomil Rainov were purchased. In 1962 in the town came to paint artists from all over the country, including Stoyan Venev, Panayot Panayotov, Ivan Hristov and others. The works created by them ,about 80 canvases, form the original fund of the gallery. The building of the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery was built in 1892 on the foundations of an old fortress facility. Author of the project is architect Todor Varchota. In 1976, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the death of the great Bulgarian painter Nikola Petrov, born in Vidin, the gallery was named after him. Then the artist’s bas-relief was placed above the entrance door of the gallery, made by the sculptor Georgi Chapkanov.
Today, the gallery contains over 1,400 works of art. The painting department is the most numerous – it has 800 canvases. Among them are the original works of Ivan Mirtvichka “Ladies Portraits”, Boris Mitov “Portrait of Dr. Vitanov”, Nikola Petrov “Market in Byala Slatina” and “Baba Vida”, thirteen works by Vladimir Dimitrov – The Master, among which The work “Mother and Child”, Sirak Skitnik – “Boats”, Zlatyu Boyadjiev – three canvases, among which is the plot composition of the Brezov Cycle In the Fields, by Stoyan Venev, Vassil Stoilov, Zdravko Alexandrov, Ivan Tabakov and other big artists of fine art. The collection includes works by Ivan Hristov, Ivan Ivanov, Yordan Geshev, Alexander Poplilov, Vladimir Manski, born in the Vidin region, as well as by Stefan Todorov, one of the founders and the first director of the gallery.
In the gallery are also presented the most brilliant representatives of contemporary Bulgarian painting – Georgi Pavlov – Pavleto, Svetlin Rusev, works by Nayden Petkov, Alexander Petrov, Dimitar Kazakov – Nero, Emil Stoychev, Atanas Yaranov, Ivan Vukadinov, Yordan Katsamunski and others. The gallery also has pictures of almost all contemporary Vidin artists.
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The gallery was established in 1908 at the initiative of Stara Zagora artists. Today, more than 4600 works of art, distributed in five departments, are stored in its funds. In the constant exhibition of the gallery there are works by Vladimir Dimitrov – Master, Dechko Uzunov, Dimitar Gyudzhenov, Stoyan Venev.
The Art Gallery is located in one of the oldest and emblematic buildings of the city – the City Hall, built in the beginning of the last century. The enormous spaces, the skylight, the detached studios make the new art gallery building comparable to the best European galleries. Traditionally, chamber concerts are organized on Saturday morning. For the city’s celebration, October 5, the Art Gallery organizes the Autumn Salon of the Stara Zagora artists.
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Art Gallery “Boris Denev” is located just above the monument “Asenevtsi” in Veliko Tarnovo.
The building of this gallery boasts a remarkable architecture, numerous windows located on the stone walls and high columns rising above the central entrance. It is one of the oldest galleries in the country. It first opened its doors in 1934. Located right in the heart of Mount Athos, from where there is a remarkable view of the Stambol Bridge, Yantra River, there is an incredible panorama of the entire city. For many years, the most diverse and valuable paintings of Bulgarian artists from different generations and periods have been gathered here so that today the State Art Gallery is one of the richest collections of paintings painted by talented brush masters. They are divided into three main sections: painting, graphics and sculpture.
The total number of irreplaceable exhibits is 5530 and covers a total area of 850 square meters.
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The Art Gallery in Belogradchik was opened in 1983. There are more than 180 canvases – graphics and paintings, among which are works of many famous Bulgarian artists such as Vladimir Dimitrov-Maistora, Svetlin Rusev, Stoyan Venev, Ivan Hristov, John Leviev, Bahyt Bagishev and others.
Besides the permanent exhibition, temporary exhibitions are often held in the gallery.
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The Art Gallery in Lovech is located in the Varosha district, in a building with 4 halls on different levels. Over 2400 works (painting, graphics, sculpture and applied arts) from the 30s of the XX century to the present day are exhibited here.
Among the authors are names such as Zlatyu Boyadjiev, Dechko Uzunov, Svetlin Russev, Vezhdi Rashidov, and others.
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The Art Gallery in Silistra is located in the city center. It is housed in a beautiful building (formerly a pedagogical school) dating back to 1890 and is in the style of a “late secession”.
Over 1500 works of art (painting, graphics, sculpture, etc.) of the great Bulgarian artists such as Vladimir Dimitrov, Dechko Uzunov, Zlatyu Boyadjiev and others are exhibited in the gallery.
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Dospevski is one of the first Bulgarian painters and icon painters with academic education. He became the founder of secular portrait painting in the second half of the 19th century. The prominent artist also participated in the national liberation movement for liberation from Ottoman domination. For this reason, he was arrested and jailed in Mehterhane in Constantinople, where he died in January 1878.
Today, visitors can also look at the six premises of the house. They feature objects and objects from the life of Dospevski and his family. Among the most interesting and valuable exhibits are the artistic works of the artist.
The House Museum was declared a museum in 1952, and for an architectural monument – 37 of the State Gazette of 1964. In 1966 he became a subsidiary of the Stanislav Dospevski Art Gallery in the town of Pazardzhik. The museum is also one of the 100 national tourist sites in Bulgaria.
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Bansko is one of our favorite winter resorts, which has a real treasure in its heart. This is the permanent iconic exhibition “Bansko Art School”, which is located in the oldest and preserved building from 1749, only 5 minutes from the city center. The one-storey building is declared a monument of culture. In the past the house was a female convent to the Hilendar Monastery, and later to the Rila Mountains. Today, you can see 6 halls where the brightest examples of the Bansko iconography school are celebrated, whose fame is wandering around the Balkans and Central Europe.
The founder of the school is Toma Vishanov-Molera. According to his old legend, he studied painting in Vienna and after his return to Bulgaria he received his nickname Moler – from the German word for artist (maler). He created the school and began to create some of the most gifted talents of the monumental painting and the icon. Later, the heirs of Vishanov – his son Dimitar and his grandson Simeon – took part in the craft.
In the permanent exhibition you can see the original icons, painted by the representatives of the Bansko Iconography School in XVIII-XIX century. At its center are the works of the founder Toma Vishanov. Also important are the painted icons of his worthy heirs who were invited to paint churches and monasteries. One of them was the Atotonic Monastery of Vatoped.
After visiting the exhibition, you can also visit the nearby church of St. Trinity. Next to it you will see the monument of Paisii Hilendarski.
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Address:
Bansko, 3, Yane Sandanski Str
