City in Bulgaria
Photo: Habi92, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Haskovo (Bulgarian: Хасково) is a city in South-Central Bulgaria, in the Upper Thracian Plain. Nearby, there are mineral springs, ancient Thracian tombs, and the communist-era "model city" of Dimitrovgrad, built from scratch in the 1950s.
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A 32.8 m statue of the Madonna and Child, erected in 2003; there's a chapel in the base of the 17 m pedestal. Officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest such statue at the time. In 2010, they added nearby a 30 m remotely-operated belfry, which is open to the public and offers a good view of Haskovo. Just avoid being up there when the bells start ringing if you value your hearing...
First floor of a large angular 1970s building that it shares with other institutions and businesses (e.g. the city library), the entrance is on the north side, between a few shops. On the west façade there's a relief of the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet, surrounded by letters. Archaeological exhibits from the Stone Ages, classical Antiquity, and the Middle Ages, and then the history of Bulgaria until the late 19th century.
Built 1924-1926, a petty building with a classical portico.
ploshtad Atlanticheski
The name is almost certainly a reference to NATO, likely renamed after the Communist era.
A 23 m wood-and-stone tower, an exact copy of the original 19th-century tower that was demolished in 1913. This one was erected in 2012, amusingly making it newer than the New Clock Tower...
хасковски каунь, haskovski kaun
A comical sculpture of a "kaun" (kah-OON), the informal nickname for an inhabitant of Haskovo (from the Turkish word for "melon", 'kavun'). Erected 2015, sculpted by Gospodin Tenev as a large version of a prize awarded annually since 1999.
Monument to 1000 Years of Haskovo
An avant-garde public clock with four faces on top of a 26.5 m sculpture of granite, concrete and metal tubes. Built in 1985 for the ostensible 1000th anniversary of the city, on top of the foundations of the original Old Clock Tower.
A 1927 war memorial dedicated to the Bulgarian soldiers who fell in the Liberation War, the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the two Balkan Wars, and World War I. Topped with a large sculpture of a soldier, with four smaller at the corners representing different branches: infantry, cavalry, artillery, officer corps.
Actual ancient Thracian megalithic tomb, in front of the large building that also houses the History Museum.
Александровска гробница, Aleksandrovska grobnitsa
The tumulus tomb of an ancient Thracian ruler, discovered by archaeologists in 2000. One of the largest such tombs discovered in Bulgaria, and one of the handful with intact frescoes (two of the other ones are UNESCO World Heritage Sites). To preserve the frescoes, the tomb is closed to visitors; there's an exact copy in the museum right next to it, which opened in 2009.
Holy Spirit Fortress
The remains of a small, four-tower fortress that was built in the 2nd century CE, rebuilt several times and finally razed in the 14th century. Also known as the Holy Spirit Fortress, after the hill it's on, which in turn is named after a chapel built on the hill.
Обществена баня, Obshtestvena banya
Ornate, old building (facade mosaic says 1937), with separate wings and entrances for men and women.
Sourced from a hot mineral spring. The foot bath seems to work only in the warm part of the year.
Formerly a mosque, the last remnant of the Uzundzhovo fair. Stone building erected in 1593; converted to a church in 1903; last renovations in 2007. Certain elements of its previous function remain, such as an Arabic inscription above the main door. Functioning Eastern Orthodox Church and a small museum of the Uzundzhovo Fair.
A number of monuments commemorating the nearby 18th Base of the Bulgarian Air Force, which existed between 1951 and 1998. There's a Soviet-made MiG-21 jet fighter on a pylon, a radar antenna, a memorial list of dead pilots, and monuments to various 19th century Bulgarian revolutionaries.
By train
Haskovo is a major station on the secondary railway line that runs between Dimitrovgrad and Kardzhali, one of the few not-electrified lines in Bulgaria.
By bus
Intercity and international lines by the ubiquitous Union-Ivkoni and Arda Tur.
By car
Haskovo is at the crossroads of several major roads, so drivers have a number of options.
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Plovdiv · International · PDV
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