The town of Hisarya is nestled in the southern slopes of Sredna Gora. Its name is known not only from the labels on the mineral water bottles, but also from the presence of numerous healing mineral springs, green parks and landmarks dating back to the 3rd century.
No matter how much we talk about this small town, we will not be able to describe the huge historical imprint on it. But we will still share with you 5 of the most interesting places that you should pay attention to when you get to this magical place.
- Lily of the Valley Park
The legend about this park and the mineral springs located in it is one of the most interesting stories you can hear about it in the city:
During the Turkish slavery, the then governor of the settlement, Hassan Bey, took all the young girls from the neighboring settlements, with which he increased the number of concubines in his harem. The most beautiful maiden in the neighborhood was the only one whose spirit was unbreakable. So her master decided to punish her by requiring her to serve dessert naked to his guests.
Appearing, she carried a large tray of sweets over her head and began to dance for him and his guests with a smile on her face. Then he thought that the girl had resigned herself to her fate and would no longer rebel. Just then, the girl confidently walked up to the bey and dropped the heavy tray on his head. After seeing the dead body of their master, they all got scared and ran away screaming.
The girl was sentenced to death. She was to be burned alive in front of the whole village. Without uttering a word, the brave girl met her fate, stood proudly in front of everyone and entered the fire. Then two tears rolled down her tender face, which fell on the ground and a mineral spring appeared from them. It was pure as a lily of the valley and swallowed the girl’s body.
Today, a fountain named “Naked Woman” has been created in this place, which is located in the beautiful green nature of the city. In the Lily of the Valley Park, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the Roman Baths, the Naked Boy Fountain, the Lily of the Valley, the Stem and the Colonnade mineral springs.
- Colonnada mineral spring
This is the most preferred spring by the visitors of Hisarya, not only because it is located in the center of the city, but also because of its beautiful architecture and the pleasant taste of the water. The eight ancient deities of health are depicted on the spring itself. The water that flows from this fountain has low mineralization and a temperature of 47 degrees, which makes it most suitable for the treatment of kidney-urological diseases and those of the musculoskeletal system.
- Southern Gate “The Camels” – the symbol of the modern city of Hisarya
In the 3rd century AD. the city was set on fire. The Roman ruler Diocletian undertook the task of rebuilding life in the city, but according to Roman norms. Therefore, he surrounded the city with a fortress wall to protect it from repeated attacks and named it Diocletianopol after himself. The wall was 2,327 m long, 11 m high, fortified by 44 towers and had four gates from which to enter the city – southern, northern, eastern and western.
The most preserved to this day is the southern one, which, due to its partial destruction, now looks like two one-humped camels facing each other, hence its name.
Nowadays, the fortress wall encloses only the city center and can be seen by anyone walking through the green parks of Hisarya.
- Archaeological Museum
Here you will find many evidences of the civilizations living on these lands, of their cultures, way of life, clothing, etc. You will also have the opportunity to see models of the original Roman architecture on each part of the fortress wall.
- Roman tomb
It was discovered in 1957 by farmers who were cultivating their fields at that time.
It has a marble floor mosaic and wall paintings, one of a kind in the entire Balkan Peninsula, which prove that this is actually one of the few preserved early Christian tombs in the world. Roses are depicted on the wall paintings, which are a symbol of Christianity and an indicator that our great-grandfathers in these lands grew roses for the extraction of rose oil.
Today, every guest of Hisarya can visit the tomb and view every single unique element of it.
More interesting traces of the past, which you will find in the city of Hisarya, are the Military Basilica, which is unique in its kind due to its two-nave layout and numerous mineral springs. It is no coincidence that it was in this small town that Ivan Vazov wrote the poem known to every Bulgarian – “Motherland kindly, how beautiful you are”.
Visit the city of Hisarya and enjoy the art of nature and history united in an unforgettable experience.