Bulgarian Arts and Culture

Shamrock Consultancy Services supports cultural exchanges between Bulgaria ,the E.U. ,Asia and New World Cultures in the performing and audio-visual arts, primarily by providing tailor-made advice to artists,communities, scholars and students for study, research, travel and creative work in Bulgaria or abroad. We aim to develop new audiences to the arts by widening its access points in communities where artists can interact with people and meaningful exchanges can take place. Shamrock Consultancy Services' main aims and objectives are to encourage and nurture all forms of artistic activity, to facilitate emerging artists and arts groups, to heighten awareness ofthe arts through the establishment of Community Programmes and to provide access to its facilities for all sectors of the community. With these programs we aim to highlight creativity and arts for their intrinsic worth and as facilitators addressing the complexities and challenges of modern society and to improve the quality of Civic Life. Musea in Bulgaria

Festivals and Traditions in Bulgaria

Trifon Zarezan on 14th February is the ancient festival of the wine growers. Vines are pruned and sprinkled with wine to ensure a bounteous harvest. On 1st March Bulgarians give one another martenitsi, red and white tasselled threads which are worn for health and happiness at the coming of spring. When wearers see their first stork of the season, the martenitsa is tied to the nearest tree. The Famous Festival of Roses is celebrated with folk songs and dances at Kazanlak and Karlovo on the first Sunday in June and attracts thousands of visitors.The fountains in Karlovo are also filled with rosewater wich gives the whole town a sweet,intriging aroma.The Bulgarian Rose-Oil, produced in The Valley of The Roses of which Karlovo is the capital,is known all over the world for its healing powers and costs over 5000$ per liter! The Jazz Festival in Bansko (8-13 August),attracts jazz-lovers for a 5 day nonstop session. The Orpheus Music Festival in Smolyan (17 – 19 June) is held as the legend has that Orpheus was born there,altough some say it was actually Gela,wich brings us to the Bagpipe Festival in Gela, Rhodope Mountains – Mid August. International Festival of Masquerade held in the town of Pernik every even year in January. More than 5000 performers from all over Bulgaria, as well as formations from many European countries take part in the festival. It is an an illustration of the most vital and deep-rooted traditions of masquerading rites dating from the remote past and preserved for us to the present Many more festivals are taking place in all towns and villages during the year,there are just to many to sum these all up. Bulgaria boasts some of the richest archeological findings in Europe.The majority of these sites are protected by the UNESCO world Heritage Fund.

Places of Interest

Kazanluk Tomb. A Thracian tomb, dated to the late 4th-early 3rd century B.C. The murals in the burial chamber and in the corridor are of exclusive artistic value. The tomb is located in the Tyulbeto Hill near the town of Kazanluk. Ivanovo Rock Churches. A rock monastery compound of the Holy Archangel Michael, with partially preserved churches. The murals in the Church of the Holy Virgin have been described as some of the most significant achievements of 14th century Bulgarian medieval art. The churches are located about 20 km away from the city of Rouse, east of the village of Ivanovo, in the rocks of the Rousenski Lom Nature Park. Boyana Church. It has unique murals from 1259, considered among the masterpieces of medieval European painting. It is at a distance of about 8 km from the centre of the city of Sofia (in the Boyana residential district), in the foothills of Mount Vitosha. Madara Horseman. A rock relief, cut into the Madara rocks on the northern slope of the Provadiisko Plateau at a height of 23 m. This is the most significant monumental piece of art from the early Middle Ages, unique of its kind in European cultural history. It is close to the village of Madara, about 16 km away from the city of Shoumen. Rila Monastery. The most impressive monastery compound in Bulgaria of exceptional architectural and artistic merits. Founded in the 10th century, rebuilt in the 13th-14th century, a literary centre in the 15th century and completed in its present-day striking appearance during the 19th century. A spiritual centre of the Bulgarian people, it is located in the Northwest part of the Rila Mountain, about 20 km from the town of Rila and about 120 km from Sofia. Nessebur, the old part of the town. An architectural, historical and archaeological reserve at the Black Sea coast with valuable archaeological relics from different periods, original churches from the 5th to the 17th century and authentic National Revival Period houses. Sveshtari Tomb. A Thracian tomb from the first half of the 3rd century B.C. The central burial chamber has exceptionally lavish decoration and impressive caryatides in high relief. It is located close to the village of Sveshtari, 7 km northwest of the town of Isperih. Sreburna Reserve. A biosphere reserve in the valley of the Danube, including the Sreburna Lake and its surroundings. It has been established for the preservation of rare plant and animal species. It is 16 km west of the town of Silistra. Pirin National Park. It is part of the scenic Pirin Mountain. Located in the high parts of the Northern Mount Pirin, it is characterized by a specific relief and an inimitable plant and animal world. It also incorporates the Bayuvi Doupki-Dzhindzhiritsa Biosphere Reserve and the Yulen Reserve. Musea in Bulgaria