Stefanina House

Стефанина къща Stefanina Guesthouse

In the recesses of the Balkan Mountains, between Tarnovo and Gabrovo, the medieval village of Bozhentsi is huddled up amongst age-old trees and fabulous legends, established more than 700 years ago.

Amongst sparkling crystal air, bewitching quietness and impressive nature, amongst herbs and flowers, the unique white houses of Bozhentsi could be seen, covered with stone tiles and slabs and filled with the coziness and warmth, preserved by the generations of Bulgarians, that have been living here over the centuries.

In the heart of the Balkan, Stefanina House is located, associated with one of the eldest families in Bozhentsi – the Parapanovi family.

The house has fully preserved the Bozhentsi traditions, creating exclusive coziness and comfort to its guests.

There are 5 (five) in number double rooms, by 10 (ten) guests, 4 (four) of them – with large King Size bedrooms, and the fifth one with 2 (two) single beds. The rooms are furnished with solid antique furniture of teak timber, which create unique atmosphere and sense of connection with the local traditions. Each room has available LCD TV set with digital satellite signal and well-heated converter radiators. Each room has available private bath and WC unit with shower-cab, infra-red hating and hairdryer. Each room is given its own name, reflecting its nature and place: the Room with the veranda, the Stone bedroom, the Room under the cherry-tree, the Bedroom under the walnut-tree, the Corner room, the Room with the hearth, the coaches and the kitchen. The house has available a reserve water source and in the event of stopping the water supply in the village,it automati- cally switches to self-water supply.

On the ground level of the house, there is a sauna located in a beautiful stone room, which has available infrared emission, which is exclusively useful for human health, destroying viruses and bacteria, and it also could be used by people with cardio-vascular diseases, including by those with implanted bypass.On the first floor, the room with the fireplace is situated, with the coaches and the kitchen, which creates the sense of home coziness and warmth, providing opportunity to the guests to prepare themselves the dishes desired by them.
The kitchen is supplied with refrigerator, furnace, microwave stove, ceramic hot-plate and grill, utensils washing machine, laundry-machine and drier.
The guests are being offered every morning coffee from Bozhentsi and herbal tea with honey.
As extension of the room with the coaches, there is the yard with a typical hearth in the Bozhentsi style, with BBQ facility and furnace for roasting and baking, where the guests could spend pleasant days and evenings under nice old trees and the starry sky.

We offer to our guests to spend the coming Christmas and New Year’s Holidays in the unforgettable atmosphere of Bozhentsi.
The Stefanina House organizes for its guests a New Year’s table with roasted piglet and pie with lucks, also providing champagne for the New Year’s toast.
The offer includes 3 /three/ nights, using of the entire house, the kitchen, the fireplace with the coaches and the yard with the BBQ and the furnace.

The house has capacity for 10 persons with possibility for 5 additional beds (i.e. 15 persons)

- 120 BGN (one hundred and twenty Bulgarian leva) per night per person, for using the entire house, as the breakfast and the New Year’s dinner is also included in the price.

- 90 BGN (ninety Bulgarian leva) per night per person without included breakfast and New Year’s dinner

Morning coffee from Bozhentsi and herbal tea with honey is included with the breakfast.

Additional services:
1. Sauna – 10 BGN /room
2. The room with the fireplace, the coaches and kitchen – 20 BGN/room
3. Garden fireplace – BBQ – 20 BGN/room

Upon renting out the entire house, with all enlisted services, the price is 500 BGN for a 24-hour period.

THE VILLAGE OF BOZHENTSI – ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORICAL RESERVE, A MONUMENT OF CULTURE, UNDER THE PROTECTION OF UNESCO

- Old Christian church in the yard, where monastery school is located – 178 years old – established in 1830.
- Old Roman road, passing by the village and connecting North and South Bulgaria.
- Museums
- Old taverns – restaurants with Bulgarian cuisine, typical for the region, where freshly baked cakes and tasteful meals are offered.
The oldest tavern is 350 years old
- “Shekerdzhiynitsa” (a sugar sweet shop) – it is a confectionery with local specialties;
- Shops of crafts.
- There is a walking path starting from the village of Bozhentsi, through the mountain, and it is well marked, and tourists could for 2 hours reach the town of Tryavna.
- There is a walking path starting from the village of Bozhentsi, along which the historic mount Buzludzha could be reached.

IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF BOZHENTSI
UZANA
It is located some 20 kilometers away from Bozhentsi, and it is the geographical centre of Bulgaria; there beautiful mountain places could be observed, and tourists could take rest in any of the several huts situated in the area.

TOWN OF TRYAVNA
This is a nice architectural and historical reserve, with shops of handicrafts and artist galleries.
There is a walking path starting from the village of Bozhentsi and passing through the mountain, and it takes 2 hours to reach Tryavna.

ETARA
Etara – ethnographic museum is located 17 km away from Bozhentsi – a settlement of crafts, with many workshops, where masters work with tools, driven by water wheels.
Walking along the cobblestone small streets, the tourists could try a just baked bread, sweets and cakes.

THE SOKOLSKI MONASTERY
Some 2 km above Etara, high up In the mountain, there is a women’s monastery, which in the past gave shelter to many national heroes during the Liberation wars.
In the yard of the church, the chapel of “St. Pantaleymon”/ is located, where from a rock in the mountain droplets of healing water trickle down.

MOUNT SHIPKA
Some 15 kilometers from Bozhentsi, at altitude of 1523m the historic mount Shipka is situated, a national park-museum with statuesque memorial complex, in honor of those who perished in the Russian-Turkish Liberation War.

MOUNT BUZLUDZHA
It is located at 1441m above the sea level, with monument, related to the Bulgarian history.
There is a walking path starting from the village of Bozhentsi, along which mount Buzhludzha could be reached in 10 hours.

DRYANOVSKI MONASTERY
It is located some 15 kilometers away from Bozhentsi, in a beautiful mountain area, along the valley of Dryanovska river.
There are a church and ossuary of perished heroes in the yard of the monastery. A part of the monastery has been detached as a hotel.

THE “BACHO KIRO” CAVE
In the vicinity of the Dryanovski monastery, only 800 m away there is the cave, a part of which is power supplied and adjusted for viewing by tourists. There are beautiful stone chambers inside the cave, covered with ice, stalactites and stalagmites.

TOWN OF GABROVO
The town os located some 13 km from Bozhentsi, established by Racho Kovacha (‘ Racho the Blacksmith), a son of grandmother Bozhena (the fiounder of Bozhentsi).
It is an old town of the Bulgarian National revival, the cradle of Bulgarian culture and crafts, where the Aprilov’s high school is situated the first weaving factory, shoemaker’s factory and other enterprises.
The citizens of Gabrovo are well known for their sense of humor, and in the town is housed the unique “House of Humor and Satire” in Bulgaria, and every year International festival of Humor and Satire is organized with carnival.

TOWN OF VELIKO TARNOVO
The old metropolis of Bulgaria from the times of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom is located 45 kilometers away from Bozhentsi.
The old king’s metropolis is preserved in the center of the town. A part of palaces, temples and fortified wall are preservd on the “Tsarevets” Hill.

VILLAGE OF ARBANASI
Close to the town of Veliko Tarnovo is the historic settlement of arbanasi, with typical architecture of the Bulgarian national revival.

PREOBRAZHENSKI MONASTERY
The small yet picturesque Preobrazhenski monastery is huddled up above the town of Veliko Tarnovo, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, and it is adopted brother of the Athos monastery in Greece.
The monks there have preserved their old customs and traditions, and they meet their guests with exclusive hospitality.
They derive themselves honey, wine and other natural products.