History has preserved the words of Felix Kanitz, who, finding himself in this city, exclaimed in amazement: “The valley of Teteven is magical, immeasurably beautiful!” The cozy hollow through which the river Vit flows, surrounded by the mighty peaks Ostrich, Petrahilya, Cherven and Ravni Kamak, is really like that.
The first archaeologist who began excavations in the lands of the Teteven region and studied the numerous burial mounds and caves was Rafail Popov, who was born here. His efforts bring unexpectedly rich results and his fellow citizens decide to collect them in a museum. In 1932, a Memorial House was erected in honor of those who fell in three wars – the Balkan, the Inter-Allied, and the First World War. It is in it today, on Sava Mladenov Square, that the City History Museum of Teteven is housed.
In the section “Archaeology” tools of labor from the late Paleolithic and from the Neolithic are shown: a skull of a cave bear, teeth of a boar, a copper axe, a flint scraper, a copper needle, a cult hatchet with stylized figures, heads of a ram, an ox and a goat.
Bronze and silver sesterces from the time of the emperors Trajan and Commodus, a hoard of over 1,300 silver coins minted in the 2nd-4th centuries and an inscription indicating that Teteven was within the borders of the province of Diptensia are evidence that there were also Roman settlement.
The name of Teteven is mentioned for the first time in a written source from 1421 and probably comes from the word “string”, because, seen from above, the city really resembles a bowstring stretched along the Vit river.
The 16th and 17th centuries were a period of prosperity and prosperity for Teteven. The town grew, but the houses were so close to each other that you could walk from one end of the settlement to the other on their roofs. The works of local masters were offered not only in the markets of Thessaloniki and Constantinople, but also in the west – in Austria and Germany. They began to call it “Alton Teteven” /Zlaten Teteven/. There were 60 pilgrims in the city, thousands were pilgrims, they went to the Rila monastery and the “Zograf” monastery, three methos deployed missionary activity.
The prosperity lasted until 1801, when Teteven was devastated and burnt to ashes by the Kardzhalia. Out of 3,000 houses, only four remained, although the Kurdzhalians did not manage to take it by force, but entered it by deception. And several decades had to pass for it to rise from the ruins and in the 50s and 60s of the 19th century to once again become one of the craft centers of Bulgaria.
In 1871, Vasil Levski founded one of the most numerous secret revolutionary committees in the nearby village of Glozhene, but after the unfortunate robbery of the Turkish treasury at Arabakonak, its members were arrested and sent to Diyarbekir. The museum keeps a facsimile of a letter from the Apostle to Karavelov with the following little-known significant lines: “Obshi deserved death, but he is forgiven because of his simplicity.” Another facsimile has been preserved in the museum: Midhat Pasha’s confession that the Bulgarians from this region were forcibly forced to accept the Islamic faith.
A few words about the local plum brandy, which is rivaled only by the one produced in Troyan. When a guest mentions it, Tetevenians smile and reply that they rinse their glasses with the Trojan before drinking from theirs.
An inscription in the museum recalls the significant words of Ivan Vazov: “If I had not come to Teteven, I would have been a foreigner to mother Bulgaria. I have also been to Switzerland and other places around Europe, I have crossed Bulgaria, but I have not saw a more magical end.”
Work time:
Working hours:
Monday – Friday: 9.00 am – 12.00 pm and 1.00 pm – 5.00 pm.
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 10.00 am – 12.00 pm and 1.00 pm – 5.00 pm.
Other – visit outside working hours time and on weekends – only accepts groups by prior request
Entrance tickets:
Children up to 7 years old – No charge;
Students, pensioners, persons with disabilities – BGN 1.00;
Adults – BGN 3.00
Giving a talk – BGN 3.00
Amateur video and photo shooting in museums: with a video camera – BGN 3.00
with a camera – BGN 1.00
Professional filming – BGN 10.00
Providing materials for use by the museum: photocopying of documents and photos – BGN 2.00;
photocopying of materials from the museum fund – BGN 1.00
Contacts:
Address: Teteven, 3 Sava Mladenov Square
Tel: +359 678 52 005
