Students of Ks Kwiatkowski Secondary School in Bychawa at an architecture lesson

The best way to learn about history and architecture is to see it with your own eyes and touch it with your hands. That's why students from ks. Kwiatkowski Secondary School in Bychawa went on a trip to Kazimierz Dolny, an old, picturesque town with numerous fine examples of different architectural styles. 
The village which gave the beginning to the town was establisehed in the early Middle Ages. From the 13th century, an important land trade route ran through Kazimierz, which contributed to the development and determined the character of the town. The oldest building, a stone watchtower, was erected in the 13th century in order to guard and watch over peaceful trade in the town.
In the 14th century, King Casimir III the Great (in Polish: Kazimierz III Wielki) transformed the medieval settlement into a town by granting it a municipal charter. A local parish was established and King Casimir also funded the construction of the local castle.
The town enjoyed its greatest prosperity in the 16th and the first half of the 17th century, due to the trade in grain conducted along the Vistula River. After the Polish-Swedish wars in the following years that trade declined, and this freeze in economic development enabled the town to preserve its Renaissance appearance. 
Since the 19th century it has become a popular holiday destination, attracting artists and summer residents.
Here, our students could see examples of two most visible architecture styles in the town: a gothic castle and a defensive tower from the 14th century and beautiful Renaissance tenement houses in the town main square from the early 17th century.
Students could compare the buildings, they made notes of the main diferences between the styles: the form, materials used and ornament details. They also tried to draw their own imaginative buildings in one of the two styles.

The town's main square

The most characteristic tenement houses in the square

The ruins of an old medieval castle

Baked bread in the form of a chicken is a popular souvenir.

On the Wisła River's bank

 

Old games

On the last school day the students from the Secondary school “Hristo Botev” played some interesting Bulgarian games with ropes and balls. They had a lot of fun playing the games and remembered the times when their parents and grandparents were little children.

 

Bulgaria through our eyes

Last weekend a group of students and teachers went on a 2 days trip around Bulgaria. We aimed to visit some of the sightseeings included in the final Guide book of the project "Building Bridges using the five senses”.

Our first stop was the Shipka Memorial, reached by a flight of steps. It is a memorial to those who died for the Liberation of Bulgaria during the Battles of Shipka Pass in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.  After that we went on to the town of Shipka where we visited the Shipka Memorial Church. It is, together with the other parts of the Shipka Monument complex, dedicated to the Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian soldiers.

We visited The Tomb of the Thracian King Seuthes III which is situated in the Golyamata Kosmatka mound, at a distance of 1 km south from the town of Shipka north from the town of Kazanlak and The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak near the town of Kazanlak in the central part of Bulgaria. The guide explained that the tombs were a part of the Valley of the Thracian Kings situated near the ancient Thracian capital of Seuthopolis in a region where more than a thousand tombs of kings and members of the Thracian aristocracy could be found. The monuments date back to the 4th century BCE and has been on the UNESCO protected World Heritage Site list since 1979.

Our trip in this region, named The Rose Valley ended up in the town of Kazanluk where we saw the "Kulata" Ethnographic Complex where the calm atmosphere of the old-times can be felt. Today a museum, the once prominent "Hadzhienovata Kushta" belonged to wealthy rose producers. Even today the hospitable hosts of the Complex welcomed us to taste some rose jam in the yard, telling us stories about the past and the present of Kazanlak.

On Saturday evening in the hotel hall in Stara Zagora we had our final meeting on the project. The students had prepared presentations with exciting and unforgettable moments from the various activities held during the project. All participants were given T-shirts and cups with the logo of the project.

On the next day we travelled to the town of Plovdiv where we visited the Regional Ethnographic museum in the Old Town. The Museum has a collection of over 40,000 exhibits distributed among the Agriculture, Crafts, Fabrics and Clothing, Furniture and Interior, Musical Instruments, Religious Items and Works of Art funds. In addition, the museum boasts a scholarly archive, a library and a photo archive.

Then we went on to the Amphitheatre which is one of the biggest cultural sights of this city, located in the central southern part of the country. The Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv was built in the early second century AD, at the time of Emperor Trajan (98-117). In those ancient centuries it was one of the most significant public buildings Trimontium. The building is distinguished by its remarkable architecture, magnificent design and representativeness. The stands of the Ancient Theatre could accommodate 5 to 7, 000 spectators from all over who have great vision to the stage, which was generously decorated with friezes, cornices and statues. 

After an hour walk through Plovdiv we travelled to Kalofer, the home town of the patron of our school Hristo Botev. The town of Kalofer is located near the Central Balkan National Park and the name of the town is connected with the name of Hristo Botev (lived 1848 – 1876) – a genius poet, a brilliant publicist, ideologist and leader of the national liberation activity for the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman Dominion.

Hristo Botev was born in Kalofer in 1848. A museum, dedicated to him, was built in Kalofer. The national museum “Hristo Botev” was built at the place, where the last house of the Botev family used to be and stores, preserves and displays the personal belongings, documents, publications and works of the Bulgarian artist, along with other materials, associated with the life and work of Hristo Botev, his family and his friends.

Our school trip ended up with songs, laughter and chatting on the way home. Everyone was excited but a bit upset because of the fact that this school trip was the last activity of the project, truly hoping that the built bridges during the project will last in the following years.