Bansko
Bansko - a ski resort with an atmosphere
Bansko is located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains and right below the Pirin National Park, included in the List of World Nature Heritage. The town itself attracts visitors with its 120 cultural monuments, its museum-houses and the permanent ethnographic and Bansko School of icon painting exhibitions. A very interesting sight is the Holy Trinity Church, with its 30m high bell-tower and clock, splendid murals and woodcarvings. The region is famous for its cuisine and colourful folklore and offers various entertainment opportunities.
Fortified houses made of stone appeared in Bansko during the early National Revival period. By the end of the 17th century, they had become two-storey houses, although they still adhered to mediaeval building traditions. The typical Pirin stone house has two faces - one is a stone facade facing the street, the other an open veranda leading to the three-sided inner courtyard, flanked by the building itself. Small, almost invisible doors set into the walls link the adjoining houses. In certain respects the architecture resembles monastery construction - carefully joined stone masonry, few and small gritted windows, framed with decorative bricks. The general appearance of the houses is quite stern and austere, and only the spacious verandas with their carved columns and railings provide some interplay of light and colour.
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