Day 31: Veliko Turnovo

On our way to Veliko Turnovo, we stopped for lunch at Etur, which is where I will start my post. The picture above is one of the potters in the village where I made some purchases! While driving into the town there are many abandoned factories: huge buildings without windows and run-down. They used to be huge factories during the Communist time period but are now not used and abandoned. I am fascinated how in every place we go here in Bulgaria I learn more and more about Communism and see how much it has affected the country. Anyway, Etur is an old, reconstructed 19th century Bulgarian village. You can think to Colonial Williamsburg because it has that feeling. There are craftsmen working on pottery, bronze-making, jewelry-making, and weaving. Our group strolled down the streets of this old village talking to the shopkeepers, buying souvenirs, and enjoying the scorching sun!

We then continued on to Veliko Turnovo (pictured above). Turnovo is almost in the center of Bulgaria and was the capital of Bulgaria during the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1393). Turnovo is also called The City of Czars because the fortress on the top of the hill was where the Czars lived during this time period. In 1393 the city fell to Ottoman domination and was destroyed. When Bulgaria re-claimed its independence, the city was rebuilt since it had such an important place in history.

The old part of the city is called Tsarevets Fortress, which is situated at the top of one of the hills here in Turnovo. At the top of the hill is the Church of the Blessed Saviour. The Church was originally built in 1235 but was restored in the 1950s. Then around 1976 a muralist painted the walls and ceiling of the church. The murals depict the history of Bulgaria from the 14th and 15th century. The Church of the Blessed Saviour is no longer a practicing church, so I was able to take pictures (when I paid the 3 lev fee). I found the murals so intriguing that I decided to take many pictures of the murals and share them with you. The reason they are so different from other murals on the churches we have seen in Greece and Bulgaria is because they were painted during the Communist Era (which you now know all about because of my blog!). Here are a few of the pictures I took:

This is the Virgin Mary which is up at the front of the church near the alter. It is known locally as the "Erotic Virgin Mary" because her shoulders are bare. Notice the harshness of the colors and the modernistic perspective. It is quite different than the murals I've posted from Rila Monastery, Boyana Church, and Meteroa.

This mural was on one of the columns of the church. It depicts a man bound by rope on his hands and feet. I'm very curious to know what in Bulgarian history this is showing. It was during Ottoman domination, so maybe was the cruelties the Bulgarians faced from the Turks?

I found this part of the mural to be very interesting because the man has such long, bony fingers and is painted in all gray colors. It reminds me a little bit of Lord Voldemort, which is an interesting association with a church mural.

Finally this last mural is of a woman. To me it looks like she's wearing diaphanous clothing and pouring water (???) over herself.

I would be interested to know your opinions of the murals as well. The things to remember are that these murals are in a church (or it used to be a church) and they were created during Communism.

Cheers!