The Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak

The Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak, Bulgaria is a unique piece of Bulgarian heritage, and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The entrance to the Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak

This is the entrance into the museum compound. You go up the stairs and to the right. The tomb was discovered as late as 1944, and an Ethnological Center was built around it.

The original tomb is inside this house which has been built to protect it

The original tomb is inside this house, which has been built around it to protect it. Tourists go to the copy or replica of the tomb further down the footpath and to the left after the stairs. Note that the burial chamber is very small, and visiting it with a tourgroup makes it somewhat difficult to really appreciate its details.

The outside entrance to the tomb replica - counter to the left, a mini museum to the right inside the door

The original tomb was part of a large Thracian Necropolis - a town for the dead, or a cemetary. This particular tomb was built and taken into use sometime at the end of the 4th. century BC.

The main entrance to the tomb replica itself

At the time, Thracian king Seutes III ruled, and the capital city of his kingdom was Seutopolis, today buried under water behind the Koprinka Dam West of Kazanlak.

The tomb decorations have been reconstructed in minute details

The tomb decorations have been meticulously recreated in the replica, to give the best possible experience of the tomb. They depict the burial rites of the time, giving us an excellent insight into the Thracian burial customs of the time.

The person who was buried is depicted in the roof decoration

The man in the center is probably the one buried in the tomb with his wife at his side. The paintings inside the tomb are nothing less than the best preserved Hellenistic artistic work in Bulgaria.

Next - The Shipka Peak Monument

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