Traveling with kids in Gabrovo District

A town whose name bears the aroma of grass (treva means grass in Bulgarian); a town located in the heart of the Balkan Mountains; a town whose history has been preserved to this day and can be seen, and explored along all the picturesque streets. This is Tryavna – a beautiful Renaissance town, enchanting and welcoming tourists.

We visited Tryavna with our children in September, staying in the Kazasova guest house, which is very cozy and with excellent location. Our walk started from the Old Tavern, next to the hotel, where they offer excellent food. A German proverb says: Nach dem Essen sollst du ruh’n oder 1000 Schritte tun – after eating either rest or 1000 steps make. We took more than 1000 steps walking around Tryavna,  Starting from the beautiful Municipality, all covered with flowers.

We continued to the central square with the clock tower, opposite which was  the museum of woodcarving art, from where we got another stamp from the 100 Bulgarian tourist sites, placed under number 21. The museum is open every day from 09:30 to 16:45, and the visit is completely worth it. The children were fascinated by the old school inside, where the children learned to write on sand,  and the teacher had a long wand, reaching all the way to the last desk, with which he urged the children to learn.

The clock tower is one of the main symbols of the city, erected in 1814 with a height of 21.15 m. Every day at 22:00 it rings with the melody of the Bulgarian song Nerazdelni from Pencho Slaveykov. This song became the anthem of the city.  

Between the carving museum and the clock tower there is a lovely pastry shop with coffee on sand and all kinds of sweet temptations. The tables are round, low, with antique three-legged chairs, and we tried sweet kadaif, Turkish delight waffles and other sweets.

Our walk continued along the other symbol of Tryavna –  the Kivgiren Bridge, also known as the Old Bridge or the Humpback Bridge. It was built in 1844-1845. At the end of the bridge, the master carved a small pitcher in the stone, for which various anecdotes are carried. According to the old Tryavna people: The master has placed the pitcher on the bridge so people from Gabrovo town to wash themselves from their unclean deeds,  when they come to visit Tryavna, and according to the people of Gabrovo, it is placed: “to wash themselves when they leave the city…” This is reminiscent of the tacit competition between the two settlements in the past, which sometimes leads to unfriendliness.

Beyond the bridge begins an alley full of shops and taverns. The shops here offer unique handmade wooden and wool products, as well as numerous souvenirs. Although we have already eatten we did not miss to try the famous kebaptcheta (long meat balls) from master Zahari, which are considered the most delicious on the Balkan Peninsula.

We also looked at the Daskolov house with carved ceilings built in 1804-1808 by the masters Dimitar Oshanetsa and Ivan Bochukovski. It turned out that these two masters bet who would make a more beautiful carved ceiling. At the end of the race, the results were stunning – unique suns shone from the ceilings, and the same ones remained to be kept to this day.

On the way back we lit a candle in the church of St. Archangel Michael, which was erected in honor of the victory of the Bulgarian kings Asen and Peter over the troops of Emperor Isaac II Angel in 1190 in the Tryavna Pass. In 1798 the church was burned by the Kardzhali people and was restored by the citizens of Tryavna in 1819.

On each street the well-maintained Revival houses attracted the attention of our tourists and cameras. Although there were a lot of visitors on weekends, the city awakened some tranquility with its beauty. There were wonderful playgrounds and fountains, and definitely Tryavna is one of those places that one would like to see again and again.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT TRYAVNA:

Location: Tryavna is situated at the extension of the Tryavna  River, at the northern foot of the Tryavna Mountain, part of the Central Balkan Mountains. The town is 20 km east of Gabrovo and 226 km from Sofia.

TRIP TIPS FOR TRYAVNA:

Best time to visit: all year round.
Typical foods and drinks: while you are in Tryavna be sure to try coffee on sand, and you can also get a diploma for an enviable skill in drinking coffee on sand and eating baklava from the cafe of Bai Stoyan. Here are the “most delicious kebabs on the Balkan Peninsula” – they are made by master Zahari.
Best places to visit: The center of Tryavna is pedestrian and easy to walk, as each house carries its own history and has beautiful carvings that are unique to this region. Be sure to visit the carving museum, clock tower, Daskalov’s house, etc.