Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Pair of storks nest on the bell tower of the church in Bansko

Photo: BTA

For decades, the bell tower of the Holy Trinity Church in Bansko shelters a pair of storks. Elderly local people say that since their childhood they remember the long-legged harbingers of spring that inhabit the top of the tower. Therefore, no one in the resort town, located in the foothills of Pirin, was surprised when this spring the stork couple returned to Bansko and chose the bell tower's nest to raise their offspring again. 
The return of the storks is an event expected by the residents of the towns, Georgi Angelov, who for three years has been among the group of men who ring the church bells for every holiday, told BTA. ‎


For the past three years, he has been the man who puts food on the top of the bell tower for the birds on cold days.
In 2020, nature presented a surprise - abundant snow in the spring. Then local people raise the alarm that the storks have no food, and fishermen and the owner of a fishing shop in the town provide fish, which Georgi delivered to the home of the stork family. This was repeated over the next few years. 


This year, a colder spell is again expected but people always respond and, if necessary, fish will be provided for the storks, Angelov said.‎

Photos: BTA


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

From palkenski dialect to standard speech – a Bulgarian language lectureship starts in Timișoara

Timișoara, a large multicultural city in western Romania, is the center of the historical community of the Banat Bulgarians . The members of this community are descendants of settlers from the Bulgarian lands nearly three centuries ago, who have..

published on 11/24/25 3:55 PM
Marian Serafimov

Marian Serafimov – a young man from Gabrovo who turns enthusiasm into change

In Gabrovo – a city in the geographical center of Bulgaria, once described as the Bulgarian Manchester, but today facing demographic challenges – there are young people who believe that the future can be better and that this largely..

published on 11/23/25 3:15 PM

Stela Nedkova and her Bulgarian corner in Brussels – a restaurant with traditional Bulgarian dishes

For 15 years, Stela Nedkova has been living in Brussels . After completing her education in Bulgaria, she decided to test herself in a different reality to see whether she could handle life’s challenges on her own, without her parents’ help. Stela faced..

published on 11/23/25 11:15 AM