Abritus

Abritus is included in the list of the 100 most important Bulgarian tourist sites. In the antique Roman, the village is found the greatest treasure of golden coins in Bulgaria. It weighed four kilograms and counted 835 coins from the 5th century, which were made in the mint of Constantinople, Ravenna, Antioch and Thessaloniki. Due to the fact that the coins were very well preserved it is assumed that they were part of private or state treasury. On the coins, there is a sign that guarantees their gold content. The treasure was hidden in attacks over the city and thus preserved it for nowadays.

In the historical museum to the archaeological reserve Abritus besides a rich collection of coins, you can see also a statuette from the world famous Thracian tomb in Sveshtari. The statuette of the goddess Nike is from the 3rd century BC. The most precious exhibit of the museum is a gold Pegasus made from pure gold dated 4th century BC. It was discovered near the village of Vazovo. It has no analog in the world archeology. The winged horse weighs 475.5 grams. There is only a part of it in the museum because the other half of the Pegasus was cut by one of the guys that originally founded. He made from the priceless artifact an ashtray for the company. Later the golden part disappeared.

In the museum, you will see other items that will introduce you to the ancient history of Abritus from the Thracian settlement, the settlement of Roman soldiers and the expansion of the castle to the Roman city.

In the 12 halls of the interactive museum Abritus you can have fun with children and to learn more about the area’s history, how the town developed, what were the Roman fashion and more about the last battle of the Roman Emperor Trajan Decius. He died near Abritus with an army of 30 000 in a battle against the Goths in 251 AD.

But not all the treasures of Abritus are locked behind four walls. The place has been converted into an outdoor museum. In the park of Abritus, you can see 70 epigraphic monuments with inscriptions in Greek and Latin. Among the tombstones, there are Christian, Muslim and Armenian.

The area of the archaeological reserve is 3200 square meters. On the site, you can see the remains of the courtyard and the rich house of a senior magistrate. There are also Roman Ionic columns – favorite place for photographers and tourists.

Abritus is included in the list of the 100 most important Bulgarian tourist sites. In the weekends from November 1st to March 31st the archeological reserve can be visited only by appointment. During the week it runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the rest of the year the place is opened during the same hours, but every day. Prices for input, as for most Bulgarian sights are almost symbolic. The entry fee is 2.50 lev /approximately 1,25 euro/. The price for students is 0,8 lev /approximately 40 euro cents/. Guided tours costs 5 leva /approximately 2,5 euro/