Samovodska Charshiya

A craft street in the old part of the town, which took shape in the nineteenth century on the site of a market where peasants from the village of Samovodene brought their produce — hence the name. Workshops gradually grew up around the market, and the street became the main craft centre of Tarnovo: potters, coppersmiths, cutlers, bakers, dyers and icon painters all worked here. The buildings are typical of the Bulgarian Revival — a stone ground floor, a wooden upper storey with an overhanging bay, and a stone-paved roadway running downhill. After the restoration of the 1970s the street works to its original purpose again: craftsmen sit in the shops selling what they make on the spot, not imported souvenirs. On the end wall of one of the houses is a large panel with figures of master craftsmen. The street is short and takes about fifteen minutes to walk, but it remains the most complete surviving piece of old Tarnovo.

On the map