Mini Bulgaria Park in Veliko Tarnovo brings national landmarks closer to tourists

The Mini Bulgaria Park is an unusual place for a tourist tour. Here, as if in the palm of your hand, the most important landmarks of history, architecture, spiritual culture and natural landmarks of Bulgaria meet. One comes to take a bird's eye view of Bulgarian lands and rediscover their great wealth.

It is no coincidence that te park extends over 10 acres of land precisely in the historic city of Veliko Tarnovo, right at the foot of the Tsarevets fortress and the famous Baldwin Tower - which guarded the most vulnerable place of the fortress. Many tourists see the park precisely when they climb the tower, and then they find it interesting to go down and look at the miniatures.

"Mini Bulgaria" collects models of Bulgarian landmarks, executed on a scale of 1:25, which is the world standard for making such figures. The park openед its doors in 2017 and was created as a project of a whole team of designers and artists, who developed detailed models of the buildings. Currently, there are 63 objects in "Mini Bulgaria", among which are presented both the emblematic buildings in Sofia, the Ancient Theater and the beautiful building of the railway station in Plovdiv, the temple-monument "Nativity of Christ" in Shipka, the Baba Vida Fortress in Vidin, etc.

All models amaze with their precise workmanship and an in-depth look at Bulgarian architectural masterpieces. That is why tourists approach each of the objects of "Mini Bulgaria" with delight and many exclamations, explains Dimitar Spasov, who has been working in the park as a tour guide since 2017. He says that this is one of the few private museums in Bulgaria, made with large investments by patriotic Bulgarians.

It takes several years to create a precise model. It all starts with measuring the scale, and then the details are reconstructed from photos of the buildings, projects and sketches. "It takes about 3-4 years. We also receive many inquiries from other countries that want to create a similar park in their country, but in general there are few similar museums in Europe," says Dimitar Spasov:

Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia
"Romanian tourists are the most interested in us. We are on their way to Greece and a huge number of Romanian tourists come to us. They like Tarnovo in general, which is why they are very interested in the park, which is already an emblem for the town and for Bulgaria in general. Only here can you reach rom Varna to Sofia in 15 minutes. There is a lot of architecture and urban planning in this project. Here you can also follow the logical development of the events that have happened in Bulgaria, there are also the mistakes of our history, and the misfortunes that have befallen us as a country", says Dimitar Spasov.

The tour of the sites and monuments does not coincidentally begin with the churches in the ancient Black Sea town of Nessebar – the Church of St. Sophia and of the Church of Christ Pantocrator, the tour guide adds:

"Actually, the environment in which the Bulgarians found themselves when they organized themselves into a state was Christian – Byzantine or late Roman – and this gave the direction in which to develop. Therefore, from Khan Asparuh to Tsar Boris, we have gradually Christianized and have taken on the culture and manner of conducting diplomacy, which has predetermined us as a state. In addition, we have also had rulers - visionaries who knew where to lead the state. So this kernel from which we developed is represented in our park through the town of Nessebar, which is older even than our state itself."

One of the models that Dimitar Spasov distinguishes in "Mini Bulgaria" is the building known as "Dohodno Zdanie" (the profitable building) in the town of Ruse, which combines both the Bulgarian spirit and European architecture as well.

"I would say that this Austro-Hungarian body has a purely Bulgarian soul. We discuss with visitors here for a very long time where our country was headed, and how we deviated from this path and why. And purely visually, as a building it has magnificent architecture. But, when you are in Ruse, you can't see it in its entirety, there are trees, umbrellas and restaurants around, which cover fragments of the building. That's why with us it is seen unfolded and in detail and one gets an idea of its beauty."

We stop in front of the model of the Pleven Panorama and our guide explains: "This is a quite attractive way of presenting our history for the time, there are only a few objects similar to the Panorama in the world, everything is three-dimensional and real in Pleven".

The park of miniatures also shows the sights of the host town of Veliko Tarnovo. Tsarevets Hill is clearly visible, with the Patriarchal Cathedral on it. "Here was also the royal palace of rulers such as Tsar Kaloyan and Tsar Ivan-Asen II, who, figuratively speaking, when they ruled, all of Europe fell silent to listen to their decisions," says Dimitar Spasov and continues:

"The Ruse rock-hewn monasteries are also a magical place, and are among the models in the park. The relief there itself predisposes to contemplation and solitude with God. There is no person who has not visited Ruse and felt it is one of their favorite places in Bulgaria. One has the feeling that spirit and nature have merged in one place. Here is the monument on Mount Shipka, where the great battles were fought during the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation. This place symbolizes the willingness to sacrifice and the military duty and is a symbol of the Bulgarian spirit. The construction of this monument in the mountain itself was no less difficult than the defense that was waged there.."

Another site we are heading to is the Belogradchik Rocks. They are modeled on a scale of 1:500, because of their large size. "One of the most beautiful models is that of the Rila Monastery," adds our guide in the miniature park. There are also small steps around the model so that one can look at this object literally behind the walls, where the beauty of the Rila holy monastery is hidden," explains Dimitar Spasov:

"The monastery from the outside is a fortress, because it was built in times when it had to be secured. That's why the oldest structure inside is a battle tower, called the Hrelyovata Tower. But the beauty of the monastery is on the inside. This is a closed spiritual space, which is cut off from the world by the thick walls. That's why when you look at it from above, you will see the beauty of the Rila Monastery. Aesthetics are very important, which is why these models involve an investment of thousands of leva."

Bulgarian tourists who come to "Mini Bulgaria" most often look to see a landmark from their hometown or even a village. That is why the idea is for the park to be constantly expanded. There is interest in placing models of such buildings that no longer actually exist, but still arouse nostalgia among people.

The park also features another symbol of Bulgaria - the rose garden, which reminds us of the notorious hero of Aleko Konstantinov, who sets off across Europe to sell his rose oil.

"Especially during the school excursions, there is no place here where you can get away from visitors," Dimitar Spasov tells us:

"Many families with children come, they enjoy it, they stay in the park all day. We have even made video history lessons here for Bulgarian children in Spain and Italy. With the camera, we tour and walk through site by site, in real time with a story about our history and architecture. "This way, in one class, children get to know many of Bulgaria's landmarks."