To continue our orientation, all new teachers were taken on an overnight trip to a small village called Koprivshtitsa (ko-priv-sisht-ta, roughly). As usual, our departure time was 10 am. I don’t remember the last time I left on a trip that late in the morning. My family runs on a slightly more military schedule for these types of things. I loaded myself into the front of the bus and we headed up the mountains.
Koprivshtitsa is a lovely village located between Sofia and the Black Sea with a population of about 3,000 people. The draw of Koprivshtitsa is its numerous historical buildings and its close ties to many leaders of the April Uprising in 1876. This Uprising eventually led to Bulgaria’s independence from the Turks two years later. The town itself was classified as a museum by the Bulgarian government and it features many house museums that you can go through that showcase classic Bulgarian architecture and interior design from the Bulgarian Revival of the 1800’s.
After arriving in town, we ate lunch at a café. I ordered grilled chicken as to avoid the copious amount of cheese that tends to be piled on most dishes. We then set out for our tour of 4 of the 6 house museums.
The first house we arrived at was the Oslekov House. It was built in 1853 by Nencho Oslekov, a wealthy merchant, who took part in the planning and execution of the April Uprising and was eventually killed by the Turks. The house itself is very typical to Bulgarian Revival architecture except that it is not symmetrical. There is only one wing to the left of the entry because the neighbor on the right would not sell his house to Oslekov so the second wing could not be built. The outside of the house features paintings of Padua, Rome and Venice and inside the walls are brightly colored and the furniture includes long padded benches along whole walls, typical of Bulgarian homes at the time. 
Next came the Debelyanov House, built in 1830 by Dimcho Debelyanov’s parents. Debelyanov is considered to be Bulgaria’s greatest poet. He was born in Koprivshtitsa 1887 and moved frequently throughout his life. He began getting his poetry published in 1906, but sadly he was killed in 1916 during a battle of WWI. The statue out front represents his mother. He wrote a very famous poem in which he talks about his mother waiting for his return, so that is how she sits, waiting. There is a replica of this statue over Debelyanov’s grave as well. This house is mostly a museum dedicated to the poet.
Third on the tour was the Kableshkov House, built in 1845. This house was owned by Lyuben Kableshkov’s parents. Kableshkov owned a print shop and was a revolutionary. He fired the first shot of the April Uprising and printed several papers to help the cause. He was eventually caught by the Turks and committed suicide while in custody at the age of 25.
The last house was the most beautiful. The Lyutov House, built in 1854, is more representative of the style of home popular in Plovdiv at the time. The paintings inside are still in excellent condition. Inside the main entrance is an oval raised ceiling that has paintings by Lytutov himself of cities such as Istanbul and Alexandria.
Other sites in Koprivshtitsa include the “Old Church,” built in 1817, the “New Church,” built in 1833, and the bridge where the first shots of the April Uprising were fired. In the church yard of the Old Church, you can find the graves of Kableshkov and Debelyanov. Also, a trip up the mountain side will yield really nice views of the entire village.
We spent the night at a hotel in Koprivshtitsa and after trying Rakia (basically Bulgarian moonshine that makes your ears burn), we spent the evening dancing traditional Bulgarian dances with the slightly snockered Hungarians at the next table. 