Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak

The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is a small brick beehive tomb of the fourth century BC, and its painted dome is among the finest pieces of Hellenistic-era painting to survive anywhere in the Balkans. It lies on the edge of the town of Kazanlak, in the valley between the Balkan Mountains and Sredna Gora that archaeologists call the Valley of the Thracian Rulers: more than a thousand burial mounds of the Thracian royalty and aristocracy are scattered across it, near the ruins of their capital Seuthopolis.

The tomb itself is modest in size: a narrow brick-vaulted corridor leading into a round, domed chamber, just big enough for a burial. Both spaces were painted in fresco. The dome shows a funeral feast: a man and a woman sit on separate ornate chairs and clasp each other by the wrist while attendants approach in procession bearing trays and gifts, horn players walk alongside, saddled horses are led without riders, and a chariot waits. Around the top of the dome runs a chariot race, and the borders mix ox skulls draped with cloth, egg-and-dart patterns of Greek origin and simple rosettes. The seated woman is familiar to every Bulgarian: she appears on the 50-stotinki coin.

UNESCO inscribed the tomb in 1979. Because the paintings are fragile, the original chamber is closed to the public. Visitors instead enter a full-size, exact replica built beside it, which reproduces the corridor, the chamber and the murals, so the experience is of the images rather than of the original stone. Travellers who want to stand inside a genuine Thracian tomb can combine the visit with other opened mounds in the valley, several of which admit visitors.

Kazanlak itself is the centre of Bulgaria's rose-oil industry, and the town is at its liveliest in May and June when the roses are harvested; the valley also leads north to the Shipka Pass. A half day covers the replica; a full day allows a circuit of the other tombs.

Getting there

The tomb is on the edge of Kazanlak, about 1 km from the centre. The nearest airport is Plovdiv International Airport (PDV), about 77 km away. Kazanlak is a main station on the railway line between Sofia and Burgas, and there is at least one direct daily train from Plovdiv; otherwise change at Karlovo. By bus, the usual route is via Stara Zagora.