Bansko Museums

If you walk through Bansko there is an unforgettable experience. There are around 150 Monuments of Culture, 5 of which are of national importance . These are: the cemetery church called Ouspenie Bogomdichno (Holy Assumption; the second half of the 18th c. - exceptional iconostasis); the Sveta Troitsa Church (church of the Holy Trinity; 1835) which is the most impressive one in the Pirin region, with its unique carved iconostasis and the clock-tower built later (in 1850); Beninata Kashta, Vefyanovata Kashta and the home of Nikola Vaptsarov - a famous Bulgarian poet. The Museum Complex of Bansko is among the best in Bulgaria. Beninata Kashta, now a museum house named after Neofit Rilski, in which the interior have been partially restored includes an 18th c. school room, reconstructed workshops and a collection of the most popular works of Neofit Rilski - the first Bulgarian grammar, early textbooks, anthologies, and dictionaries.
Velyanovata Kashta has an appearance and interior design bearing the unique architectural and artistic features typical of the Bulgarian National Revival style.
Vaptsarovata Kashta, now the museum house of Nikola Vaptsarov, was the poet's birthplace (born into a Protestant family yet later adopting a leftist stance, Nikola Vaptsarov wrote the fiery poetry that made him world famous). The original house has been restored and is open to the public together with an exposition of his poetry while a more recent building, known as the House of Art and Poetry, attached to the old building, now houses a perma-nent crafts exhibition of traditional textiles and costumes, icons, woodcarvings, and paintings by local artists, offering opportuni-ties to buy as well. Now the Nikola Vaptsarov Museum (tel. 3038) is the central building of the museum complex.
Metoha (the Convent) of the Rila Monastery is another of the places of interest where a permanent icon exhibition shows works from the local Bansko School of Art. The School is one of the examples of the Bulgarians' enthusiasm for education that began in the pre-liberation period in latelSth and 19th c.
A variety of guided walks are provided by the complex for the tourists such as: archaeological sight-seeing tour, a tour of the ensembles of houses built in the architectural style from the National Revival Period; visits to the old-fashioned workshops of the local craftsmen - weavers, knitters, wood-carvers, artists, etc. Another attraction are the demonstrations offered for groups of tourists - a traditional welcome with coffee boiled on sand, pic-tures taken of visitors dressed in Bulgarian folk costumes, and others. Make sure you take a look of the valyavitsa (the fulling mill - cascades of water used to wash and thicken rugs; on the right of the Bansko Hotel).
As tourists walk the streets of Bansko they cannot fail to meet elderly women (babi) dressed in their colourful woolen folk cos-tumes and carrying their homespun backpacks - there is another charming picture for the holiday album. Then there are plenty of folk-style taverns offering Bansko delicacies with outlandish names such as Kapama (meat, rice, and pickled cabbage stew), Chomlek (potato and meat stew), Katino Meze (fried meat with garlic and mushrooms) and the home made dried sausages such as Soudzhouk, Karvavitsa and Banski Starets.
Souvenirs from Bansko can be purchased at the crafts and tex-tile exhibition at the museum, the workshop of N. Koulin (tel. 4254), and the ceramic shop located near the Pirin Hotel, as well as the Art Gallery at the House of Culture (tel. 5096) and the crafts shop (on the left of the photo shop - center of town).
The Tourist Information Center in Bansko is located right at the town's center (House of Culture) and can help visitors with use-ful guidance on hotels, attractions, and guides (tel. 5048).