Adress: Blagoevgrad, district “Varosha”, Street “Rila”
Phone: 073/ 88 53 70
E-mail: rimblg@gmail.com
Contact person: Aneta Danchovska – 0897551454; Smilena Petkova – 078690
Working hours (Monday to Friday) | 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
Working hours (Saturday & Sunday ) | 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
Regional museum of History – Blagoevgrad is a cultural, scientific and educational institute which was established in 1952 with a main mission – to conserve, learn and popularize the millennial history and natural wealth of southwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the old neighborhood of the town, near to the church “Vigrin Mary Church (Vyvedenie Bogorodichno)” and they are part of the National movement “Get to know Bulgaria – 100 national tourist sites”.
The museum`s exposure is on four levels and shows natural wealth, archeological, historical and ethnographic inheritance at Blagoevgrad`s district. There is a collection of samples of Bulgarian art – painting, graphics, sculpture and carving. The exposure “Home of Georgi Izmirliev” is also part of the museum.
The big museum`s fund, which contains above 160 thousand valuables, is shown by multidisciplinary exhibitions, compliant with European cultural patterns of communication.
In 2010 the Regional museum of History – Blagoevgrad became the first museum in Bulgaria, which realized interactive exposure at archeology and ecology for children “Museum`s kids zone”, financed by foundation “America for Bulgaria”.
In 2014 “Room for increased reality” was opened with contribution of a Bulgarian foundation for European territorial cooperation Greece- Bulgaria 2007-2013.
On the territory of today`s southwestern Bulgaria there were located different ancient towns as Nicopolis ad Nestum near the village of Gurmen, founded by the emperor Trayan, the antique town near today’s Sandanski, the town of Naine near the village of Gradeshnitsa. In the territory of Blagoevgrad there was also a Thracian settlement, evidenced by the Scriptoparen inscription of 238 found in Gramada district.
The earliest registered town in this region is district Kozhuh near the village of Rupite. It was founded in the end of the 4th century BC. Public buildings and rich private houses were water supplied and heated by complicated systems. Those buildings were decorated outside with statues, marble colons with richly decorated capitals. Elements of such decoration are shown in hall “Prehistory” – the colossal statue of the Goddess Demeter, a colon and richly decorated capital, gorgeously crafted male head from a statue, and also elements of water supply and heating system, building materials. The needs of the townspeople, especially the aristocratic ones, were fulfilled by import. Many types of luxurious dishes were imported – cannaroons for wine, kilxes for water, lecti and lacriminae for fragrant oils. Development of the towns and growth of the needs led to the development of various crafts -building, stone-carving, goldsmiths, metal casting, metalworking, pottery, weaving. A display cabinet shows materials – products of those crafts – jewellery (rings, bracelets), tools (knifes, scissors for wool cutting, chisels, drills), clay pottery (pots, jugs).
The proof for the fact that the Thracians were excellent soldiers is the set found near Plemena village which consists of iron helmet with nozzles, bronze torquas, knee pads and a long iron sword, probably belonging to a noble Thracian leader. There is also the military diploma of a Thracian warrior issued in 224 by the Emperor Alexander Sever for the completion of military service.
Religious beliefs of the ancient Tracks, cult of the dead and the great beyond are reflected in their funeral habits. Their belief in afterlife are presented in a display cabinet , in which materials form the necropolis from the ancient town Herakleya near the village of Rupite are displayed, the grave of a wealthy Thracian woman near the village of Banichan, from the antique mound necropolis in Balarbashi district, Blagoevgrad.
In the antiquity, over the graves of wealthy people stone or marble tombstones were placed. Rich collection of tombstones from the Roman Era is presented here.
In the centre of the hall the following collections are exposed:clay lamps, terracotta, a unique set of medical tools from the Roman epoch which was found in an accidentally discovered grave near the city of Bansko.
The last display cabinet shows unique colourful clay masks of Bacchante and Satyr – characters from Dionysus’s retinue – the God of wine and festivity.
