KAMENSKA BURCHINA (THE STONE) NATURAL LANDMARK
It is located about 10 km from Malko Tarnovo, near the road 99 for Tsarevo. It is also known as "the Stone" and "the Stone Mushroom".
Coordinates: 42°00’30.36” N, 27°35’27.65” E; 343 m above sea level
Preservation
KAMENSKA BARCHINA – rock formation
Category: Natural landmark
Size: 0.2 ha
Location:
District: Burgas, Municipality: Malko Tarnovo, Town/Village: Malko Tarnovo
Document declaring it a natural landmark: Order №206 of 23.03.1981
Purposes for declaring it a natural landmark: Remarkable geological sites
Mode of activities:
1. Prohibited: any activities such as damaging the stems of the trees, pruning and breaking branches, etc. that can damage trees;
2. Prohibited: entering, passing through, and parking of motor vehicles;
3. Prohibited: picking or uprooting plants;
4. Prohibited: grazing livestock;
5. Prohibited: disturbing wild animals and taking their young ones and eggs, and destroying their nests and dens;
6. Prohibited: uncontrolled visits to caves;
7. Prohibited: damaging the cave formations in any way;
8. Prohibited: opening of quarries, conducting mining and other activities which could damaged or change the natural environment in the area and the water regime;
9. Prohibited: felling of trees except sanitary;
10. Prohibited: any construction except when it is part of the development plan of the natural landmark.
Overlap (partial or complete):
1. Natural Park: STRANDJA
2. ЗЗ from the Birds Directive: Strandja
Area Descriptions
It was declared a natural landmark in 1981 to protect the spectacular rock formations. It is an ancient Thracian sanctuary, where 2500 years ago the Thracians greeted the rising of the Sun God and performed their rituals.
It is a favorite spot for tourists in Strandja. Easily accessible from the road, the trail climbs slightly (about 15 min on foot) to the rock formations.
Squeezing through the hole in the big stone mushroom for health and cleansing from sins is always a pleasant experience and a lot of fun for the visitors. Unlike the difficult (high and narrow) passage of Marina, that of Kamenska Barchina is easy and presents no risk of injury.
THRACIAN SANCTUARYINTHE AREA OFKAMENSKA BARCHINA
In the local dialect the name means stone hill. As in many other cultures, in the Thracian civilization, the stone symbolized divine power and what was intransient and eternal. The sanctuary is a complex of interesting formations of rare conglomerate rocks of Strandja among impressive panoramic views. One of the rocks is in the shape of a mushroom, in the base of which there is a narrow slit, "a squeeze-through hole". It is believed that if a person manages to squeeze through it, s/he will miraculously get rid of sickness and trouble and will be healthy throughout the whole year. On another rock, at a high place, lit by the sun all day long, there are "solar circle" carved in the rock. They are associated with the solar cult and with Apollo. Round sacrificial altars, carved almost everywhere in the rocks were used to prepare "holy wine" and to carry out the sacrifices by libation of fluids (water, milk, wine, blood).
Archaeoastronomical studies show that as of 2500 BC in this place, on the day of the summer solstice, the rise of the Sun God was observed and rituals, important to the Orphic religious and philosophical system of the ancient Thracians, were carried out.
References
Tourist Guide – Natural Park Strandja, Published by the Directorate of Natural Park Strandja, 2007.
Natural Park "Strandja". Natural resources, archaeological heritage, spiritual culture.
Authors: Diko Patronov, Ivan Karayotov, Diana Radoynova, Published by the Directorate of Natural Park Strandja, 1999.
Register of protected areas in Bulgaria, Ministry of Environment and Water
