Shumen

In town | Shumen

Shoumen sprang from an old Roman and Byzantine fortress, overlooking a passage from the Danubå Plain to the mountain passes of the Balkan mountains. Shoumen was a thriving economic and cultural centre during the period of the Bulgarian National Renaissance. Unique monuments of culture from ancient times to the present are preserved in Shoumen region. Here are the first Bulgarian capitals - Pliska and Veliki Preslav (Great Preslav), here is Madara, the Bulgarian Troy, with the unique Madara Horseman, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

A relief portraying a life size horseman, followed by a dog is carved on a cliff, about 100 m high. The relief covers an area of 23 m2 . A dying lion is pictured at the feet of the horse. Greek inscriptions around the figure tell of Bulgarian rulers and important events. This is a rare monument, dating from the VIII – IX c. A. D. It is a unique symbol of young Bulgaria. The scene has been depicted realistically and without any unnecessary details. The work displays early Bulgarian medieval art. It was included in the World Register of Historical Sites in 1979. 
   

An unusual place - a plateau rises in the middle of a plain which, when viewed from the west, resembles a petrified waterfall. The anonymous sculptor carved a relief of a majestic horseman 23 m above ground level in an almost vertical hundred-metre high cliff. The horseman is thrusting a spear into a lion lying at his horse's feet, while holding a wine cup in the other hand. There is a god behind the rider and a dog runs after the mysterious horseman.



The Madara Horseman was carved at the very beginning of the 8th Century, about three decades after the foundation of the Bulgarian State (681). The sculpture marks a triumph - the Byzantine Empire had recognized the new state. Furthermore, the Madara horseman marks a new epoch, the beginning of the new European world. Even today the horseman remains unique - nothing like it has ever been made. The inscriptions around the figures further clarify the profound historical meaning of the relief. The inscriptions, written in old Greek language and telling about some Bulgarian rulers, were made in three consecutive stages and are related to important events.
 

The oldest inscription mentions the name of the Bulgarian Khan Tervel, which dates the image relief around 8th century. They are the earliest proto-Bulgarian inscriptions, the earliest written data on Bulgarian history. The Madara Plateau is located in the Danube plain. It rises gradually up to its highest point and then suddenly drops like a stone waterfall to fertile fields. The rock cliff is one hundred metres high. Low down, in the crevices and small caves, man lived in prehistoric times. In antiquity the Thracian tribes inhabited the plain. There was an ancient Thracian sanctuary in the large open cave under the rocks, which is known today as the Nymphs' Cave. Succulent plants and trickles of water fill this place with the natural juices of life respected by the Thracians and inhabited by their gods. Monumental in design and execution, this symbol of Bulgarian statesmanship is the only one of its kind in the whole of Europe.

The Madara Horseman is situated near the village of Madara - 14 km from the town of Shoumen