Razgrad in Autumn 2025

Just a couple of photos from my visit to Razgrad this week. I was lucky to enjoy some nice mild weather with lots of sun in the afternoon, a welcome break from the cold, that met me back in Sofia.

::The town square 

::The old Ibrahim Pasha mosque, now being restored as a museum and the monument of Master Manol, a legendary builder in Balkan folklore

::The old clock tower

::The gates of a house in traditional style and the towers of the church

::The community center

::War memorial

::The city park

A Couple of Days in Razgrad

Just a few photos from my travel to Razgrad in July. The weather was very hot and despite the efforts to care for the city greenery, the grass and some of the flowers and the trees showed clear signs of withering. I regret it, that it didn't occur to me to take pictures of myself and my sister, but we had a splendid time together.

A couple of architectural landmarks of Razgrad - the old clock tower

and the restored big mosque, dating from the 17th century.

Razgrad in January 2025

Husband and I were last weekend in Razgrad for a family celebration. Like last month in Vienna, we were very lucky with the weather, especially on our free Sunday, when we got to roam through the sunny streets of the town and the park. The temperatures were in the 12-14 C range and we had a very pleasant and relaxed walk, it was hard to believe, that it was still January and the middle of winter.

The old mosque, which has been in repair for years, is finally free of the construction barriers, but the restoration works within seem to be still going on.

The old clock tower, one of Razgrad's architectural monuments.

After touring the center of the city, we went to the city park and took a long walk along its alleys.

The interior of the church in the old town 

Razgrad June 2024

Just a few photos from our walk downtown in Razgrad at the end of June. The weather this year is very hot and the usually lush and colorful center of the town was looking already dry and withered. Unfortunately, I noticed that several of the coniferous trees in the central garden had died. It seems to me the new climate realities will have to be taken into consideration and the colder climate trees to be replaced by others, more suitable to the warmer and drier springs and summers.

The clock tower of Razgrad is one of the oldest in the country still running. It was built around 1734.

The mosque, which is a historical monument, dates from the 17th century

The ruins of the old Abritus - a Roman time town on the grounds of nowadays Razgrad. We visited it last year, but I never blogged about it.

Razgrad in March

We usually visit Razgrad in the summer and I have many posts with pictures from our various travels there. This year I made a trip in March and I've chosen a few photos of the town in its pre-spring outlook.

The 1st of March is one of the most beloved Bulgarian traditional holidays, when people exchange martenizi - red and white tassels as a wish for health, joy and happiness.

The central part of the city was festively decorated in red and white and there were plenty of stands, selling martenitzi.

I couldn't pass the opportunity for a souvenier photo from Razgrad :). In my hands I'm holding my souvenir purchase - a book by Georgi Gospodinov, the author of this year's international Booker winner Timeshelter.

: Ibrahim Pasha Mosque and the statue of master builder Manol
The mosque was built during the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria. It is the third in size mosque on the Balkans and is now a UNESCO listed cultural monument, currently under reconstruction. Commissioned by the local ruler Ibrahim Pasha, it was built in the early 17th century by Bulgarian masons from the near-by villages. According to legend, the ruler ordered the builders to be locked and killed, so that nobody would be able to replicate his mosque. To escape prison, the builders made wooden wings and flew over the prison walls to the Balkan mountain, but their hatchets (or hand saws) cut through the ropes of the wings and they fell down and died.

Interesting old houses in the old part of town:

Razgrad 2022

Another town we visited during our short break - Razgrad, a small town in Northern Bulgaria. Razgrad used to be known for its ancient Thracian and Roman history, but is recently becoming more famous for its champion soccer team and its soccer stadium, which is considered the best in the country.

During our previous travels through this area we visited the ruins of the ancient Roman town of Abritus, which was built on the site of nowadays Razgrad, and the Thracian Tomb near the village of Sveshtari. This time we just took a 7 km walk around the central part of the city and its parks. It was late in the day, but it was still so hot!