Perperikon /Hyperperakion/ is located 15 kilometers northeast of Kardzhali. It rises on a rocky peak with an altitude of 470 meters.
It is known that even the ancient Greek historian Herodotus mentions a famous sanctuary – oracle of the ancient Thracian god Dionysus – Zagrei, located somewhere in the Rhodope Mountains. His priestess was no less famous than the famous Pythia of Delphi. And the Roman author Suetonius adds that Alexander the Great himself, as well as the father of the first Roman emperor Gaius Octavius, came here to find out their fate.
According to Professor Nikolay Ovcharov, it was Perperikon that turned out to be this long-sought sanctuary that appeared at the end of the Bronze Age and functioned until the adoption of Christianity in the Rhodopes – the beginning of the 5th century. In the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, Perperikon became an impressive cult center. Towards the end of the old and the first centuries of the new era, the city acquired its finished form.
Its center was undoubtedly the palace-sanctuary with the great oval hall. In recent years, significant parts of the summit fortress, the Acropolis, have been explored. Near the palace in the Acropolis, archaeologists came across the earliest church ever discovered in the Rhodopes.
“By all accounts, it seems that it was from there, at the beginning of the 5th century, that the famous mission of Bishop Niketa Remesianski for the Christianization of the Great Mountain began,” writes Professor Ovcharov. Perperikon retains its splendor even in the Middle Ages. Excavations carried out every year reveal more and more and new facts about this unique archaeological complex.
Work time:
Every day from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Entrance fee:
Adults – BGN 3.
Pupils, students and pensioners – BGN 2.
Visitors over 18 – BGN 6.00
talk – BGN 30 discount for groups over 20 people – 50%
children up to 7 years old and people with disabilities – free of charge
Contacts:
The historical museum of the city of Kardzhali
Address: city of Kardzhali, “Republicanska” street No. 4
Tel: +359 361 63580+359 361 63582+359 361 63587
