One of the most magnificent achievements of modern architecture in the whole Balkan Peninsula

was built to commemorate “the glorious deed of the Liberation, along with the blood of the liberated peoples”-in the words used by Petko Karavelov in addressing the Constituent assembly in 1879.The shining domes covered with 8 kg of gold dominate the skyline because the Cathedral is built on the highest point of Sofia, on the site of the ancient necropolis of Serdica.

       The construction of the Cathedral is an expression of gratitude to the Russian people who lost soldiers and officers in the war that liberated Bulgaria 1877-1878. That is why the cathedral bears the name of Alexander Nevski, patron saint of the liberating Tsar Alexander II. The Cathedral was designed by Prof. Pomerantsev and built in the style of the “North Russian Empire”. Financed by public subscription, the main part of the building was erected 1904-1912, and the church was consecrated in the course of solemn ceremonies in 1924. In 1953 it was raised to the status of a patriarchal cathedral, and in 1955 it was declared an ancient monument.

      The Church has a cruciform plan in an ornate neo-Byzantine style. The building occupies 3800 sq. yards, with a maximum length of 245 feet and a maximum width of 180 feet. The principle dome stands 170 feet above the ground. Above the narthex is the belfry with 12 bells cast in Moscow. The biggest bell weighs 12 tons and can be heard at a distance of 30 km. On the front wall is a mosaic icon of St. Alexander Nevski, patron saint of the Church.

        The Cathedral building resembles Byzantine basilicas, with renaissance, Russian and Oriental elements. Very interesting are the carving of the marble of the iconostasis and the thrones; and the columns of which are of alabaster and onyx from Brazil. The internal area of the Cathedral can accommodate a congregation of 5000 people. The green panels along the walls are of simulated marble made in Berlin. The mosaic icons and the floor, designed by 13 Bulgarian and 13 Russian artists, were made in Italy and Germany. The chandeliers, candlesticks and church lamps were made in Munich. The wrought-iron frames of the windows were made in Hanover, the doors were made of oak, specially dried in the shade for 17 years.

       82 icons and 273 murals are work of 32 Russian,16 Bulgarian and one Czech-Mrkvicka painters. The frescoes lack the stiffness of Byzantine painting and depict the life of Christ along with biblical scenes in rich tones and grandeur.

      The Crypt of the church was originally intended to be a tomb of eminent Bulgarian statesmen and public figures but was never used for that purpose. It displays painting and applied arts from the Bulgarian Middle Ages and Revival. There are 170 exhibits. Some of them are most valuable: the Miracle of Christ in Latom- from Poganovo monastery, Christ Pantocrator –from Nessebar, etc.

 The car was named ‘Cabriolet of the year’ at the  Geneva Motor Show. This lovely car with a profile that sweeps over the smooth hood into the windscreen before arching dramatically over the roof and straight down to the trunk. From the side, the high waistline gradually rises towards the centre of the pillarless window area before leveling off at the rear of the car. Stylish 15″ alloy wheels on 1.6i 16V models serve to nicely round off the car’s great looks. There were uniquely-shaped headlamps, techno-style light clusters at the rear, as well as prominent chrome C IT R 0 E N lettering which runs the full width of the rear window. Large chrome chevrons on the hood show that this is a true Citroen product. Inside the cabin,it is important to be said that the curvaceous theme continues, exemplified in a two-tone dashboard, fea­turing aluminum-effect spherical air vents, a semi-circular instrument panel and centrally located digital display. Other details include curved door handles, elliptical door bins and round speaker housings. The  real strength of the car  lies in its ability to change body configuration according to the weather or the driver’s mood. Even on the move, the full-length, electrically operated, multi-layered fabric roof can be retracted to eight different preset positions, while at the same time all four electric windows can be lowered to create a truly open-air feel. 

    The car is available with the choice of two gas engines, a 75 hp 1.41 unit and a 110 hp 1.61 16V option. The 1.61 16V version includes alloy wheels and an anti-theft alarm and the Company’s acclaimed rally-style SensoDrive gearbox, bringing drivers the excitement of rally-style paddle shift gear changes. All models are equipped with ABS, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and  Emergency Braking Assistance (EBA)  plus four airbags and four 3-point inertia reel seat belts .

 The letter “S” referred to the famous Sebring circuit in Florida. Donald Healey wanted to name it “Sebring,” but since this name was already used by another car maker, he used only the “S.”

   Between January 1953 and December 1967, a total of 73,728 “big” Austin-Healeys were sold as well as 362 small Healey Sprites. Different versions of the “big” Healey were designed. After 1956, the car was powered not by a four-cylinder engine but by a six-cylinder engine. The Healeys had some differences but they all had one thing in common: they were designed and constructed for the American market: 89% of all Big Healeys were exported to the U.S.

The rest was for the world market. In total, 15,826 cars with a four-cylinder engine were sold. Only 55 got the”100S”stamp. Healey built sporting cars all his life and won numerous races and rallies. He wanted that an Austin-Healey would evoke a great deal of positive publicity as a racing car. In 1954, he prepared a car for the 12-hour race on the Sebring circuit. The engine was handled by HarryWeslake and after the car was shipped to NewYork, Healey himself drove it to Sebring, Florida. On March 7, 1954, the Healey was driven by the Englishman Lance Macklin and the American George Huntoon.

They have not won the race because the rock­er shaft had  broken, due to the engine running on only three cylinders.The riders were on the third place in the general classification and champions in their class. But the Healey had demonstrated its potential and Austin in England decided to build more such racing cars. By the end of 1954, the model of the 100S was ready for its first ride.The chassis was reinforced in various places by John Thompson.The new body was made from aluminum plate by Jensen Motor Ltd. in West Bromwich. Nearly all of the 100S-type Healeys were painted white-blue ( the American racing colors). None of the cars built by Jensen had a canvas roof or quarter windows.

The engine was handled by Morris Motors in Courthouse Green. An aluminum cylin­der head designed by Weslake with two horizontal S.U. carburetors was mounted. Both the inflating and deflating valves had larger diameters than the normal Healeys and were operated by a special cam shaft.

The new distributor was placed on the left side of the engine. The compression ratio was 8.3 instead of 7.5:1 and the output increased from 91 hp/4000 rpm to 134 hp/4700 rpm. Two six-volt accumulators were placed in the rear of the car, as well as a 90-liter tank and two electric S.U. pumps transporting the gasoline to the engine. Close behind the oval grill with the type designation “100S” there was an oil-cooler constructed by theTecalamit company for trucks.

The gear box came from a normal Healey but the gear wheels and the transmissions were different. The gear­box of the 100S had no overdrive and was rather heavy. The short, dual exhaust protruded from beneath the body on the right side in front of the rear wheel. Behind the 5.50-15 Dunlop race tires, there were four hard chrome-plated disc brakes with a diameter of 11.4 in. In March 1955, the Englishmen had built six cars of the 100S type. The cars and the model were sent to the 12-hour race at Sebring. One of the cars was driven by Stirling Moss and Lance Macklin.The other cars were lent to American competitors by the American importer. In 1955, a total of eighty cars appeared at the starting line.

The race was won by a Jaguar of the D type, a Ferrari won second and fifth and Maserati took third and fourth places.The duet Moss-Macklin came in sixth in the total classification and won in its class.The other Healey 100S-es also passed the fin­al, but did not get a prize.

Only 55 cars of the 100S type were built and almost all of them were designated for the American market. The 100S is now the most popular Austin-Healey and it should not come as a surprise that various companies spe­cialize in the construction of this car.

Pleven , the 7th biggest town in Bulgaria, is situated in the middle of the Danubian plain on the two banks of the Tuchenishka and Grivishka rivers.
The town has been inhabited since ancient times. The first settlers on these lands were the ancient Thracian (5th c. BC). The biggest treasure discovered in Bulgaria-the Valchi Tran gold treasure, consists of 13 vessels with total weight of 12.5 kg. During the Middle Ages the settlement was a strong fortress with developed crafts, trade and monetary exchange. Tribe of Slavonic origin gave today`s name of the town: Pleven, first mentioned in the Charter of the Magyar King Stefan IV. During the Ottoman domination the town preserved its unique Bulgarian image. In the 17th -18th c. the town became a center of traditional Bulgarian crafts and trade (fur, tobacco, livestock). During the Bulgarian Renaissance the first secular girl`s school was opened here in Pleven. The First Bulgarian revolutionary Committee was founded here in 1869 by the Apostle Vasil Levski.
During the Russian –Turkish Liberation War (1877-1878), Pleven gains a strategic importance and focuses world public attention for 5 months. The outcome of this very important for the Bulgarian people war, was decided here. On 10th of December 1877 the Russian army captured the army of Ossman pasha. There are mementos, weaponry and plans lovingly detailing each phase of the battle. In the Museum of Liberartion (a small wooden house where the Turkish commander formally surrendered to Tsar Alexandur II). The main focus of visitor`s attention is the Panorama, an enormous concrete funnel of a building housing a huge depiction of the early days of the siege, comprising three-dimensional figures set against a circular backdrop. Downstairs, a smaller diorama shows the Turkish commander Ossman pasha retreating over a bridge in the wake of the victorious Russian assault. The Panorama depicts all the important events combining painting, plastics, and architecture in a magnificent way. There are 33 panoramas all over the world, and one of the biggest is in the town of Pleven. The “Skobelev” park is located on the very battle field where the army of the General Skobelev defeated the Turkish troops and since then it was called “The death valley”
Other sightseeing: the Regional Historical Museum (180 000 valuable items), Military Historical Museum, Art Gallery, the drama theater house, which building is an architectural monument of national significance and has an European 19th c. city style interior;
Churches; St. Nikolay(1834), St. Holy Trinity, St. Paraskeva, etc.
The Chapel –Mausoleum “St. George the Victorious” ,including the crypt with bones of Bulgarian, Russian, Romanian, Finnish, Ukrainian, Belarus and Moldavian soldiers, icons and iconostasis, is very interesting to be visited.

At the end of Chomakov Street lie the ruins of Neset Tepe Citadel. Although it is difficult to discern precise historical features the site is archaeologically rich. Fortified by the Thracian Obrysae tribe as early as the 5th century BC, the hilltop and the settlement of Eumolpius, below,were the beginnings of modern Plovdiv. Over the following centuries, the inhabitants must have often resorted to the secret tunnel linking Nebet Tepe with the Maritsa river bank, as the town and the fortress were sacked by Romans, Slavs, Bulgars, Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire, to name but a few.
   Downhill from Chomakov Street is the Hissar gate-the gate of a former fortress which has been rebuilt countless times since Philiph of Macedon had it erected. Nearby is the Georgiadi House which houses the Museum of National Liberation: The architecture of the building is far more remarkable than its ornamentation-the architect has combined box oriels with bay windows on a great scale. Originally built for a rich Turk in 1846-1848, the house contains a gallery where musicians once played and various rooms now occupied by the museum exhibition. Pride of place is given to replicas of the bell that tolled and cannon that fired during the April rising, when the Turks covered the Plovdiv streets with corpses that the population was forbidden to bury.

Nedkovich House is renowned for the wood-carved ceiling of the  enormous first floor hall, which contains another collection of the 19th century furnishings. The house itself, built in 1855, is remarkable for its rich ornamentation in the style of the period. It has a beautiful facade with three arches supported on graceful stone columns.
  In the near vicinity is the Church of St. Nedelya which looks particularly unobtrusive. A three-aisled basillica it is said to contain a delicately carved wooden iconostasis and bishop`s throne but unfortunately the structure needs restoration.
  The Mavrudi house is a large buff-coloured building with dozens of windows and sturdy beams supporting the oriels. Popularly referred to as the Lamartine House after the French poet who stayed here in 1833, writing Voyage in the Orient and recovering from the cholera that killed his daughter in Constantinople, it now contains a small museum. There are a few pictures of the poet and of the places he had visited on his travels, accompanied by a few lines of appropriate text, and it is really worth visiting the house even only to admire the unusual circular lounge of the house itself. All the material associated with the poet is sent from France. This includes facsimile of pages from the book, photographs of the poet and a facsimile of the poet`s birth certificate and so on.

 If the Balkan range was the cradle of the Bulgar state, then the fertile plain between the Sredna Gora and the Rhodope Mountains was the heartland of the Thracians who inhabited it some three thousand years ago. They left a large number of burial mounds and some other remains. They grew cereals, hemp, flax and vines. Homer called Thrace a country of fruitfulness with sheep which had fine fleece and horses which were swifter than the wind. the roman poet Ovid sang  of the river Hebros, which is the ancient name of Maritsa. Thrace was the magnet that drew conquerors like Philip of Macedon and the Romans, whose legacy to the present consists of the graceful ruins that embellish Plovdiv, Bulgaria`s second largest city, and a fair rival to the capital in several respects. Plovdiv never fails to charm with its old quarter- a wonderful melange of Renaissance mansions, mosques and Roman remains, spread over three hills. If you drive by car on the international Vienna - Belgrade- Sofia - Istanbul  highway or land at Plovdiv Airport, you can visit this wonderful Bulgarian town of Plovdiv.
   The climate of the plain is comparatively mild, because the Balkan range prevents the northern winds from penetrating to the plain while the warm Aegean air currents reach it through the valley of the Maritsa river. winter is short and mild, summer is long and hot. Although the biggest Bulgarian river flows through the plain, the average rainfalls is sufficient and vast areas have to be irrigated. The black soil of the plain is particularly good for growing wheat. Various other crops are grown here, such as maize, oats, barley, rice, sunflower, cotton,tobacco, peanuts, sesame, anise, tomatoes and peppers. there are fields of strawberries, vineyards, apple and peach orchards. early vegetables are grown in a great number of hot-houses.

It was established in 1869 and it is autonomous. The academy has a society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members. It publishes and circulates different scientific works, encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals and runs its own publishing house.  An interesting fact is that, as Bulgaria was under the Ottoman rule, bulgarian emigres founded the Bulgarian Literary Society on 26 th of September 1869, in the town Braila-the Kingdom of romania. The following year-1870 the Literary Sociaty began issuing the Periodical journal, its official publication and in 1871 elected its first honorary member-Gavril Krstevich. In 1878, shortly after Bulgaria`s Liberation from ottoman domination, the General assembly voted to move the seat of the society from Braila to Sofia. So, on 1 March 1893 the Bulgarian Literary Society moved into its own building, right next to where the Bulgarian Parliament is seated.
    Its present name Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Bulgarian Literary Society adopted in 1911. The Academy`s first president was Ivan Geshov. In 1913 the Academy became a member of the Union of Slavonic Academies and Scientific Communities. In 1931 it was accepted as a member of the International Council of Scientific Unions.
    There are 9 main sections in the Academy. These sections are united under three main branches: Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences; Biological, Medical
 and Agrarian sciences and Social Sciences, Humanities and Art. each of them consists of independent scientific institutes, laboratories and other sections.

The Roman theater also known as the Antique Theater is situated on the southeastern slopes of the group of three hills which form the Old Town. The natural incline of the place was skilfully used to arrange the marble benches of the amphitheater directly on the rock. Twenty out of a total of 28 rows of benches have been well preserved. The rows are separated into sectors by staircase aisle. The theater seats 3 500 and there are three gates for the public with the central one leading straight to the upper rows of benches. But the greatest architectural skills seem to be concentrated on the stage which is in two levels with an elevated podium. Its facade features colonnades 5 m high. The lower floor is in the Roman-Ionian style, the upper one is Roman-Corinthian. The podium rises above an in-built colonnade with Roman capitals. Marble statues complete the decoration. An inscription carved on the stage indicates that the theater was built in Emperor Trayan`s time, early in the 2nd c. AD. The facade thus formed is reminiscent of ancient palaces and temples, and it served in fact as permanent decor for the plays that were staged.
   The builders apparently followed the pattern of Roman thaters but made some deviations after models from Asia Minor. This fact is indicative of the creative spirit of the Thracian builders and of the local traditions of architecture and building crafts.
   Classical plays are staged here during May, June and September. The theater, like the residential districts below, was devastated by the Goths in 251, and later used as building material when the town revived.

 The ruins are situated in the ancient part of Varna, near the sea. The Romans had the practice of building baths wherever they close to settle. the biggest public baths in the Balkan provinces were built in odessos (today Varna) and occupied an area of more than 7 000 square meters, following the axes of the four cardinal points. The surviving walls reach 22 meters in height at some points. The baths were not only a place for bathing but also a center of social activity. They belong to the type known as “small Royal thermae”.
     The main premises are the frigidarium (for bathing with cold water), the tepidarium (for warm water) and the caldarium (for hot water). They are situated on the axis diving the building into east and west. The main entrances of the baths wereon the east and west Changing rooms, two of the biggest rooms after basilica thermarum. Their walls were lined with thin marble tiles. they were furnished with stone benches and shelves. On the floor there are parts of the marble fountains which used to decorate the premises. Large doors led from the two entrance halls to the basilica thermarum which was richly adorned with ornaments and decoration, lined with marble and other stones, columns, pedestals on which were displayed statues of Roman deities. The builders of the baths located the heated areas foe bathing with warm or hot water in the southern part. For the sweat rooms (compared today to a modern sauna) specially heated air was required.
     Bathing in the Roman baths was done in the hall with hot water situated in the very center of the  thermae. After that bathing continued in the tepidarium. People who lacked the courage to stay for cold baths (in frigidarium) return to the tepidarium through the side doors. The threee main bathing premisses were richly decorated with granite columns, marble capitals with bipedal columns and columns like a Hercule`s club.Drinking fountains were situated near the entrances. The toilets were situated in the south-west corner of teh western outer gallery. The small premisses outside the east, west and north walls of the building were inns and small shops selling everything for bathing and pleasure time.