RECREATIONAL PROFESSIONAL CENTERS

 Those centers can be used by Bulgarian and foreign architects and guests. Accommodation is possible only upon a preliminary booking. Recreation center reservations and cards are issued by the Union of the Architects in Bulgaria, Sofia, Social Activities Division Tel.: 02/943 82 86; fax: 943 83 49; architect Cvetana Kosovalieva.

•  ARBANASSI Center

 It is located in the architectural and historical reservation of Arbanassi near the town of Veliko Turnovo – the medieval (12-14 c.) capital of Bulgaria. The house is one of the striking examples of the typical Arbanassi resident architecture from the 18th century. It was restored and adapted in 1972-1975. There are 5 rooms (16 beds) with independent bathrooms, a sitting-room with a fireplace, a kitchen, a dining-room and a vast yard-garden.

•  BANSKO Center

 It is located in the resort town of Bansko – an architectural, historical and skiing center at the foot of the Pirin Mountain. The complex consists of three houses-cultural monuments of the 19th century, which were completely restored and adapted in 1990-1998. There are 3 apartments, 2 of which are two-storeyed and 6 rooms with independent bathrooms (totally 29 beds), sitting-rooms, kitchens, dining rooms.

•  BOZHENTSI Center

 It is located in the village of Bozhentsi, an architectural ethnographic reservation of 18-19th century near Gabrovo - the capital of laughter. It is a typical Balkan house, built in the middle of the 19th century, restored and adapted in 1975-1977. There are 4 rooms (9 beds), a sitting- dining-room, a kitchen and a yard, richly planted with trees and shrubs.

•  KATUNISHTE Center

 It is located in the architectural and historical reservation of Katunishte on the Southern slopes of the Balkans near the town of Kotel and the village of Zheravna which is also an architectural and historical reservation. It is a residence building, typical for this region from the period of National Renaissance in 19th century. It was restored in 1975. There are 5 rooms (11 beds), a sitting-room and, in a separate body, there are a kitchen and a summer dining-room in a yard, richly planted with trees and shrubs.

•  KOPRIVSHTITSA Center

 It is located in the architectural and historical reservation of Koprivshtitsa town in the Sredna Gora Mountains. It is one of the most interesting resident buildings from the period of the Bulgarian National Renaissance in the middle of the 19th century. The house was restored in 1965-1966. There are 3 rooms (10 beds), a sitting- dining-room, a kitchen and a yard-garden.

•  TRYAVNA Center

 It is located in the picturesque town of Tryavna, which is an architectural reservation and a center of building and wood-carving schools from the period of the National Renaissance (18-19th century) on the Northern slopes of the Balkans. The house, built in the 1860s, is an example of the Tryavna schools. It was restored in 1972-1975. There are 5 rooms (12 beds), a sitting-room, a kitchen, a dining-room and a yard-garden.

•  SHIROKA LAKA Center

 It is located in the Rhodope Mountains in the architectural and ethnographic reservation of Shiroka Laka with a school for folkloric music and instruments near the town of Smolyan and the skiing resort of Pamporovo. It is one of the examples of the Rhodope architecture from the period of the National Renaissance in the second half of the 19th century. It was built in 1877 and restored in 1972-1976. There are 5 rooms (15 beds), a sitting-room with a fireplace, a kitchen and a dining-room.

•  CHERNOMORETS Center

 It is located in the village of Chernomorets at the Southern Black Sea coast near the town of Sozopol. The house is at 100 meters from the central beach of the settlement. There is 1 apartment and 21 rooms with 2 and 3 beds (45 beds totally). Every room is with an individual bathroom and a terrace. The ground floor represents a restaurant with a terrace.

• ST. KIRIK AND ST. YULITA Complex Center

 It is located at the foot of the Rhodope Mountains in the St.St. Kirik and Yulita monastery complex. The monastery was built in the beginning of the 13th century, then burnt down twice in 1606 and in 1810, later restored in 1899 and finally lost its liturgical functions in the first half of the 20th century. It was reconstructed by the UAB in 1983-1987 as a center for conferences, creative meetings and recreation. There are apartments, double and single rooms (80 beds totally), 2 cafeterias, day-time bar, exhibition rooms, conference room with 200 seats, ateliers for creative work. The monastery church in the complex is restored and active. The complex center is near the town of Assenovgrad, which is a center of medieval church architecture, and near the Bachkovo Monastery, which is the oldest active (since 11th century) monastery in Bulgaria. Plovdiv, the second biggest city in Bulgaria, is only half an hour drive from there. Plovdiv can show the discovered architectural layers of the ancient Roman town of Philipopolis and architectural historical and ethnographic reservation of the National Renaissance (19th century) – the European capital of culture, June 1999.