“It is darkest before dawn. How Bulgaria’s freedom came”, and how the town of Batak is a testimony to the darkest period marked Bulgarian history. I read this in a leaflet in the Balin’s house in Batak, which we visited in the summer with my children and the text was engraved in my mind.

When we hear Batak, we always associate it with the cruel Batak massacre during the April Uprising, forgetting about the glorious and ancient history of this picturesque town located in Southern Bulgaria. The Thracians first inhabited these places, and after them came the Romans, Byzantines and Slavs. Various churches, Thracian mounds, Roman bridge, etc. were found in the region.

Today the town warmly welcoming its visitors with its picturesque pedestrian center, where you can see the Historical Museum, which has preserved treasures from the past, nearby is the Balinova

House with a beautiful ethnographic exhibition and the church-ossuary St. Nedelya, where the bones of more than 2,000 men, women and children who died during the April Uprising are preserved.

Along the alley leading to the Balinova house there are beautifully painted benches, which, however, on the hot summer day were not suitable for sitting due to the hot stone.

Batak is located on both banks of the Old River, but we decided not to “get old” and so instead of walking along the river we headed to the Batak dam that is 4 km outside the town. On the west bank of the dam is situated the mountain resort of Tsigov Chark with many nice hotels, and lots of attractions for children. However, we decided not to stop in them but to take a boat trip around the dam enjoying the island of Golaka, which was showered with birds during our warm August day.