Description of the attraction
Rupite Protected Area is one of the most famous sites in the Balkans. Rupite owes its popularity to its mineral springs, the extinct volcano Kozhukh Gora, and the fact that it is the birthplace of the Bulgarian seer Vanga. The Rupite area is located near the Bulgarian town of Petrich near the village of Rupite on a rocky volcanic hill, the whole area is considered a crater of a huge ancient volcano.
Since 1962, a part of this territory with an area of about half a hectare has been a natural landmark. Mineral medicinal springs have an average temperature of 74 °, giving up to 35 liters per second. The floodplain natural forest mainly consists of white poplar. The transitional-Mediterranean climate prevailing in the area allows the herbaceous vegetation of the Mediterranean to grow here, as well as the development of some types of thermophilic animals.
A huge variety of snake species reigns here, one of them is a rare cat snake, 201 species of birds, including Mediterranean ones, which you will not find anywhere else in Bulgaria - Mediterranean mocking, masked and black-faced shrike. During the wintering and migration period, you can meet here the cormorant, which is listed in the World Red Book.
On the southern side, as well as at the foot of the volcanic upland, there are the ruins of an ancient ancient city, which bore the name of Heraclea Sintica and was the main city of the Sints, an ancient Thracian tribe. The existence of the city dates back to the 4th century BC. until the 6th century A. D.
On the territory of the area is the church of St. Petka Bolgarskaya, which was erected in 1994 with the money of the prophetess Vanga, two years before her death. Vangelia Gushcherova was born in 1911, and spent her last years in Rupite in a small house, next to which the temple was built. Svetlin Rusev, a famous Bulgarian painter, covered it with frescoes in a realistic style that goes beyond the limits established by Orthodox canons.
It is known that Wanga lost her eyesight in early childhood, after which her unique abilities were revealed. The prophetess believed that this area has a unique energy, and the water from the springs is truly healing. The world fame of Vanga attracts thousands of believers and curious people here every year.
