Tsarska Bistritsa
Encyclopedia
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, high in the Rila Mountains, just above the resort of Borovets
Borovets
Borovets , known as Chamkoria until the middle of the 20th century, is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Province, on the northern slopes of Rila, at an altitude of 1350 m...
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 of Bulgaria
Boris III the Unifier, Tsar of Bulgaria , originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver , son of Ferdinand I, came to the throne in 1918 upon the abdication of his father, following the defeat of the Kingdom of Bulgaria during World War I...
.
The hunting lodge was nationalized after 1945, when Bulgaria became a Communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
. 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.http://www.standartnews.com/archive/2006/02/10/folio/index.htm
The architecture of Tsarska Bistritsa combines, in the spirit of Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, elements of the authentic Bulgarian National Revival
Bulgarian National Revival
The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman rule...
style with other European architectural styles. A cabin from the transatlantic ship New America is part of the interior. It was either a gift from the captain or won by Ferdinand during a poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
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
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
170 kW (hydroelectric) generator built and installed in 1912. Other structures include a stable
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...
, a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, a garage
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
, a sentry box
Guardhouse
A guardhouse is a building used to house personnel and security equipment...
and fountains.
Sitniakovo
Sitniakovo
Sitnyakovo is a summer royal residence in Bulgaria. It is located on Rila mountain.The residence was built on commission by Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Sitnyakovo is situated in close proximity to the Borovets resort and the Tsarska Bistritsa palace. It was designed by architect Georgi Fingov and...
and Saragiol
Saragiol
Saragyol is a royal residence in Bulgaria. It is located on Rila mountain.It was built by Ferdinand I between 1912 and 1914.After the fall of the monarchy Sitnyakovo was used by the Fish-Hunting Union.Saragyol is located within the National Park "Rila"....
are also located in the Rila Mountains.