Sightseeing around Bononia Estate Winery & Resort.
“Baba Vida” Fortress
“Baba Vida” Fortress (also known as “Babini Videni Kuli” meaning Baba Vida’s Towers) 24 km away, ~ 20 minutes from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
“Baba Vida” is the only fully preserved medieval castle in Bulgaria, which played both a role as a defensive facility and as a royal castle. It stands on the banks of the Danube in the northeastern part of the town of Vidin. On this site, dominating the surrounding lowlands, have been concentrated since antiquity the fortifications of the town. Its history dates back to more than 2000 years, passing through different construction periods.
Having withstood more than one enemy attack, it has been repaired and expanded several times. Baba Vida Castle was built on the remains of the ancient fortress of Bononia, which probably arose on the foundations of a welded Thracian settlement in the early 1st century. It was the home of Ivan Sratsimir himself who fought to the last to resist the Ottoman invasions before the last fortress in Bulgaria fell under Ottoman rule.
Visiting hours: weekdays 8.30-17.00; holidays 10.00-17.00
For contact : 094/ 601 705
The fortress is a part of the 100 national tourist sites.
Vidin Synagogue
Vidin Synagogue 25 km away, ~20 minutes from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
This is the second largest synagogue in Bulgaria following the synagogue in Sofia, but it was considered more beautiful. The old synagogue in the town was destroyed during the Liberation War (1877-1878), and the present temple was built within a year and inaugurated on 28 September 1894. Since 1950, the building has lost its main function and has been used for storage, which has led to the significant deterioration of its condition. Today, the building is inan extremely poor condition. There is an ongoing project for its restoration, and it is expected that in the end of 2022 Vidin Synagogue will become a cultural centre.
Vidin Danube Park
Vidin Danube Park 20 km away, ~20 minutes from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
The Danube Park in the town of Vidin stretches along the banks of the Danube river and is an ideal place for a walk or rest. In some areas it is laid out according to the traditions of the English parks and is regularly maintained with its trees, shrubs and grass in very good condition. The Park has within it the Theatre, the Pazvantoglu Mosque and Library, the Turkish Post Office, the Roman Fortress Wall, several monuments, children’s play areas and restaurants. The Park is one of the most frequently visited places for walks and entertainment and educational tourism, combining magnificent views, architectural uniqueness and cultural richness.
“Kula” Fortress
“Kula” Fortress (also known as “Castra Martis” Fortress) 50 km away, ~55 minutes from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
“Kastra Martis” Fortress is situated on the steep southern slope above the gorge of the Voynishka River (“Soldier’s River”), in the centre of the town of Kula (“Tower”). The town is names after the ancient tower rising in its very centre. The Fortress is believed to have been built by Emperor Diocletian in the late IIIrd century and the early IVth century to guard the road from Bononia (Vidin) to Singidunum (Belgrade). In 377 Emperor Gratian passed through the Fortress with his troops on his way to Thrace, and in 408 the Fortress was briefly captured by the Uldis – the Chief of the Huns. In the Vth century the Fortress was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian I (527-565), but twenty years later it was once again destroyed as a result of the Avar invasions. Centuries later the Fortress was used by the Bulgarians for the defence of the Vidin Kingdom.
“Magura” Cave
“Magura” Cave 68 km away, ~1h 30 min from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
Known for its paintings (dating back to the Paleolithic era) of primitive people and numerous bats, it is among the largest Bulgarian caves with a total length of its galleries of 2500 m, and a constant temperature of 12 °C. It is formed by karst processes in thick-bedded, Lower Cretaceous, white grey limestone. There are formed halls and galleries with impressive names, such as Triumph Hall, Poleto (“The Field”), Harmana, Bat Gallery, Strelbishteto (“The Shooting Ground”), Drawing Gallery, Ominous Gallery, Sun Hall, Dripstone Hall, Hall of the Fallen Pine, Poplar Hall, Throne Hall, Concert Hall. Some halls are of colossal sizes, as all are connected by galleries and cave tunnels, there are many stalactites, stalagmites and dripstones, and there is a small lake in the Triumphal Hall. Magura Cave is one of the 12 accessible caves in the country.
“Uspenie Bogorodichno” Izvorski Monastery
Uspenie Bogorodichno” Izvorski Monastery 63 km away, ~1h 20 min from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
The Monastery is located in a beautiful area 9 km to the southeast of the town of Dimovo and 2 km to the south of the village of Izvor. According to an old tombstone in the church yard, scientists are convinced that the Monastery was active from the middle of the XVIIIth century. According to the legend, in the XIIth century the Russian Prince Izvor Tavorski and Prince Jacob Svetoslav, both of whom led by a “flying” icon, arrived at the site where the Monastery was later built. After the fall of the Vidin Kingdom, the Monastery was destroyed and its monks were expelled. It was not earlier than in the middle of the XVIIth century when the Monastery was rebuilt. In 1915 the Monastery was rebuilt. In 1915 the Izvor monastery became a virgin monastery, and in 1923 the church was restored and painted by Gospodin Zhelyazkov Serbezov. The painter was a student of Anton Mitov and Ivan Murkvichka. Serbezov also took part in the decoration of the “Alexander Nevsky” Cathedral.
For contact: 0898 330 027
Lake Rabisha
Lake Rabisha (“Rabishko Ezero”) 65 km away, ~1h 20 min
With an area of 3.25 km² and a length of up to 1.4 km, Lake Rabisha is the largest inland lake in Bulgaria and the seventh largest of all lakes in the country. The shifting of the earth layers has formed a local basin, the bottom of which is subsequently filled with a significant amount of water – an extremely rare natural anomaly. It is of tectonic origin and until recently was considered a karst lake. The lake has virtually no catchment and has been officially proven to be flow-free. Geological drilling has found that the lake bed is paved with water-permeable alternating marls, sandstones and clays from bottom to top, currently covered on top by silt. The medieval Bulgarians thought in their ideas and beliefs that water was supposed to always be in motion. People could not explain many of the natural phenomena, such as the fact that the water had excellent qualities (clean, sweet, and odourless) despite not running off, people associated the lake with legendary people, animals and superpowers and like the monster “Rabi” – a creature with the head of a bull, without horns, the gills of a dolphin and hind legs like the flippers of a seal.
Belogradchik Fortress
Belogradchik Fortress 74 km away, ~ 1 hour 25 minutes from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
Belogradchik Fortress is located in the immediate vicinity of the town of Belogradchik. Many significant events are associated with it, most of which are conditioned by the struggle for
liberation of the Bulgarians. Its construction took place in the beginning of the Modern Era – between the Ist century and the IIIrd century AD, and nowadays it is one of the best preserved fortresses in Bulgaria. It originally served as a shelter and observation post and had less strictly defensive functions. It was a link between the eastern and western parts of the empire. Later, upon the division of the Roman Empire, “Kaleto” remained within the boundaries of Byzantium, and in the end of the VIIth century it came under the rule of the newly formed Bulgarian state. Its first major reconstruction was carried out during the reign of Ivan Strassimir, which also changed the status of the Fortress into a defensive post.
For contact: +359 936 53 022.
The Fortress is a part of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria.
Belogradchik Rocks
Belogradchik Rocks 79 km away, ~ 1 hour 30 minutes from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
Belogradchik Rocks are a system of rock groups and single rock outcrops. They are located along the Belogradchik Fault in the Western Pre-Balkan along 30 km with a width of 3-5 km. These are natural rock formations, reaching a height of up to 200 m at some places, formed over hundreds of million years. They are composed of sedimentary rocks of sand and various, often large, pieces of rock covered by calcareous sediments. Water erosion, wind, and temperature fluctuations have shaped various rock figures resembling mythical creatures, human silhouettes, animals, and birds. They were declared a natural landmark in 1949. They are included in the list of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria. They are included in the Red Book of Bulgaria as a vulnerable natural habitat.
Felix Romuliana Fortress
Felix Romuliana Fortress 85 km, ~1 hour 40 minutes from Bononia Estate Winery & Resort , on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
Ten kilometres away, on the road from Boljevac to Zajecar, on a huge plateau, near the village of Gamzigrad, surrounded by the mountains of Eastern Serbia is Felix Romuliana, the imperial palace of the Roman Emperor Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus, built in the IIIrd and IVth centuries. He named it after his mother Romula and called it Romuliana. The Palace seems never to have been completed and the IVth-century emperors gave this magnificent property to the Christian Church. In the Vth century the Palace was destroyed by the Barbarians, and in the VIth century Romuliana was rebuilt as a frontier fortress by Justinian. After the invasion of the Slavs in the late VIth century, the former imperial residence was abandoned. It was a powerful city of 6.5 hectares, with about 20 fortified towers. Inside there was a lavish palace, two pagan temples, three Christian churches and other buildings; the floor mosaics are considered to be on a par with the finest works of Late Antiquity in Europe.
Felix Romuliana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bononia Estate Winery & Resort
Experience an unforgettable time on the shore of Danube river with a glass of good wine in your hand