Tsarska Bistritsa ("

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

's Bistritsa"; bg, Царска Бистрица) is a former royal palace in southwestern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, high in the

Rila Mountains Rila ( bg, Рила, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an elevation of 2,925 ...

, just above the resort of Borovets and near the banks of the Bistritsa River. Built between 1898 and 1914, it served as the hunting lodge of Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria and his son

Boris III Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...

. The hunting lodge was nationalized after 1945, when Bulgaria became a

Communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

. The democratic changes of 1989 led to the controversial return of the palace to Simeon II, the last monarch of Bulgaria and afterwards a politician, in October 2002. The architecture of Tsarska Bistritsa combines, in the spirit of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, elements of the authentic

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

style with other European architectural styles and alpine architecture. A cabin from the

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

ship ''New America'' is part of the interior. It was either a gift from the captain or won by Ferdinand during a

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

game. The wooden ceilings and columns in the lodge are richly decorated in a Bulgarian style. Tsarska Bistritsa also has the royal family's collection of hunting trophies filled up for more than half a century. The palace is powered by a Siemens AG 170 kW (hydroelectric) generator built and installed in 1912. Other structures include a

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, a garage, a

sentry box A sentry box is a small shelter with an open front in which a sentry or person on guard duty may stand to be sheltered from the weather. Many boxes are decorated in national colours. Compare: In literature The sentry box at the entrance to Buck ...

and fountains. Sitniakovo and Saragiol are also located in the

Gallery

File:Trophys.jpg, Royal hunting trophies File:TsarskaBistritsaPowerStation.jpg, Power station exterior File:SiemensGenerator.jpg, Power station interior

References

Sources

Official site of H.M. King Simeon II
* *

External links

Pictures of Tsarska Bistritsa
Residential buildings completed in 1914 Buildings and structures in Sofia Province Art Nouveau architecture in Bulgaria Royal residences in Bulgaria Palaces in Bulgaria Art Nouveau houses Borovets {{bulgaria-struct-stub