Despite the well-known stanza “The boiler does not burn”, the city suffered several times from the fire element due to its dense construction and wooden houses. The great fire in 1894 almost wiped it off the face of the earth. The fire engulfs homes, churches, inns, shops, schools, the community center. The archives of the municipality, the guilds and the church board are burned, people are burned with grief and many leave it. Only individual houses survive, such as that of Radil Körpeev, which today houses the ethnographic museum. But Kotel recovered from this disaster as well.
According to one legend, the inhabitants of the village of Novachka went in search of a safer place to live, away from the Turkish invaders. Their horses got lost and after a long search they found them in a beautiful area, now known as Izvorova Polyana. The water was abundant, the pastures lush, and they decided to settle here forever. Thus Kotel was born.
The natural history museum in the city gives an idea of how rich the plant and animal world is in this part of the Balkans. Its founder is the natural history teacher Vasil Georgiev, who for 60 years collected natural specimens, fossils, insects and fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. In 1951, the dream of this enthusiast came true and a commission from the BAS proposed that his collections lay the foundations of the museum.
Everything in it is interesting, but the visitors linger the longest in front of the medicinal plants in the “Botany” hall, the amazing fossilized remains of organisms in “Paleontology”, in front of the Rhinoceros beetles, the Egyptian sacred antler and the stag’s antler. Here you can see the largest butterfly that inhabits Bulgaria, called the Big Night Peacock Eye, the endangered mouse mouse and snake lizard, several species of turtles, birds and mammals.
There is hardly a Bulgarian who has not heard of the famous Kotlen carpets. The former Galatian school, opposite to which stands the expressive monument of Peter Beron, the author of the Fish Primer, has preserved wonderful specimens created by skilful female hands and with great taste.
Work time:
8.30 – 17.30 hours
Entrance fees:
adults – BGN 4.00,
children and pensioners – BGN 2.00.
Contacts:
Phone: 0453/423-55
