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If you ever find yourself bored on a weekend with no particular plans or you have just moved to Veliko Tarnovo area, then you should definitely try geocaching.

Geocaching is a game, a treasure hunt of sorts, where participants use a GPS or other navigational techniques to hide and find different sized containers called geocaches or simply caches practically everywhere.

A typical geocache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook (logbook) and “treasure” – usually toys or any small items of little monetary value. There are hidden geocaches in over 100 countries around the world and all seven continents, including Antarctica.

a container

We have recently joined the geocahing community only to find out that the game is actually popular among outdoors-y Bulgarians and Tarnovians, too.

There are some interesting georoutes and caches in Veliko Tarnovo and the area – e.g. On the Streets of Tarnovo, Walking with the Bolyars, Rulers of Mediaval Bulgaria and Tsarevets Cache – that will help you learn more about the town and its history and walk you through its most scenic parts, while you’re looking for your geocache.

So next time you need a small adventure or want to spice up your walk, try geocaching. And don’t forget to TFTC!

Kapinovo Monastery

Kapinovo Monastery Sveti Nikolay Chudotvorets (Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker) is located on the Left bak of the Veselina, 20 km south of Veliko Tarnovo. It was established  in 1 272 during the rule of Tsar Konstantin Asen Tikh (1257 – 1277).

An inscription on the apse of the apse of the present day monastery church says that in the same year a temple, called Saint Trinity was built. During that period the monastery was a religious centre of great importance, but it was set on fire when the capital Tarnovo was conquered by the Ottomans.

At the end of the 17th century the local population from nearby villages and managed to obtain permission from the Ottoman authorities for its restoration. Later the monastery was devastated several times during the Ottoman rule in Bulgaria.

It was restored in 1835, when the present day church of Saint Nicholas was built. The generous brothers Teodosiy and Kesariy Horozovi donated a large sum of money for the construction of new residential buildings for monks in 1856.

The Kapinovo Monastery was one of the educational and revolutionary centres during the Bulgarian Revival Period. For a short span of time in 1794, the abbot of the monastery was Sofroniy Vrachanski, who made his transcript of “Istoriya Slavyanobalgarska” (Slavonic-Bulgarian History) there. A church school was also housed in the monastery.

The Kapinovo Monastery played an important role in the preparation for the April Uprising in 1876. A huge battle took place near the monastery during the Russo-Turkish Liberation War of 1877-78.

The monastery is in immediate proximity to the beautiful Kapinovo Waterfalls.

Latin dance festival

The Latin Dance & Culture Festival in Veliko Tarnovo starts today and will continue till the end of June. The first issue of this “Feel & Dance” is organised by the Un Besso Dance Studio with the support of Veliko Tarnovo Municipality.

Locals and tourists will have the chance to enjoy a variety of events including dance parties, open air concerts, Latin dance classes, film screenings and traditional Latin-American food tasting.

 
The festival is organized by Darina Gospodinova, Vanya Petsurova and Iglika Ivanova and their UN BESO club. Reps from more than 20 Bulgarian dance schools and participants from Romania and Greece are expected to attend.

Two films are going to be shown during the festival. Iberia and Fado are films dedicated to dance and they will be screened in Taralej Art Club at Samovodska Charshia.

Detailed information could be find at the local TIC and the Key To VT, free events issue.

Eniovden

Today is Eniovden. It is an old Bulgarian festivity that is celebrated on 24 June each year. On the same day the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church also celebrates the day of John the Baptist and often rituals and traditions of both festivities are intertwined.

The celebration coincides with the summer solstice, so many of the beliefs and practices are associated with the path of the heavenly light and its cult.

It is believed that before the sun “goes to the winter” (goes into hibernation during winter), it bathes in water sources, thus granting them healing abilities, which is why everyone should bathe before sunrise in running water for health.

It is believed that the first girl to see the rising sun on the morning of the festivity will be rich and healthy.

On Eniovden or Midsummer’s day it is also thought that various herbs have the greatest healing power, especially at sunrise. It is best that they are picked early in the morning before sunrise.  One should pick 77 and a half sorts of herbs for the upcoming winter – “for all diseases and for the one without name”.

In the spirit of these traditions, Tarnovian Herbalists are going to demonstrate how to make your own cures and “potions” today at Samovodska Charshia.

Street Art Festival 2013

The annual Street Art Festival will take place on June 21 and 22.

Street artists from the all over the country are gathering to perform in Veliko Tarnovo.

During the two-day festival, artists, musicians, craftsmen, dancers, performers and acrobats will show their talent at the Asenevtsi Monument.

The event is organized by Taralej Art club of Ideistvie Association and Art Summer Project and financed by Veliko Tarnovo Municipality.

It follows last year’s Street artists’ festival, which was organized at the end of the last summer on Samovodska Charshia and had considerable success.

This year, the festival focuses on artists who create in an urban environment, on the street. Graffiti artists will show their vision on temporary panels in Asenevtsi park and around the monument, who aim at developing the urban environment, aesthetically, by means of Street Art and contributing to the unique artistic spirit of Veliko Tarnovo.

The visitors of the festival will also have opportunity to participate in creative workshops.