RISTANITE PROJECT OF KASTEX LTD, TOWN OF VELIKO TARNOVO
MEDIEVAL VILLAGE WITH ATTRACTIONS, AN ETHNOGRAPHIC COMPLEX,
A HOTEL, AUXILIARY BUILDINGS AND A PARKING

According to several economic analyses, recreational and cognitive tourism is a main share of the tourist branch of the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo. In the recent years and especially after the creation of the Tsarevgrad Tarnov Municipal Tourist Operator as well as owing to the local administration’s policy of branch development, a dynamic change in the configuration of the types of tourism demanded and an enormous variety of the activities and services related to them could be observed.

The town and the surrounding area have a very good potential for a round-year development of various forms of tourism - favourable weather conditions, a unique relief, a presence of natural and historical sights, saved folk artistic crafts. Veliko Tarnovo is the winner of the Steady Development Special Award, the potential of the town being in the structuring of a modern tourist industry offering different types of tourism, e.g. cognitive, cultural, congressional, village, ecological, pilgrimage, artistic, and balneotherapeutical. Unfortunately the tourism in the region is still chiefly a “stop” and no destination and the cultural-and-cognitive type of tourism still has priority. The branch development has to be directed towards the overcoming of this disproportion.

Having in mind all this, the Kastex Company is planning the construction of an authentic medieval village with attractions, an ethnographic complex and a hotel, which will bear the name of Ristanite with extended built area of 5.000 square metres. The appearance of all the buildings will be conformed to the landscape and the monuments and buildings close at hand, which are of local, national and world importance, e.g. the St. 40 Martyrs Church, the St. Dimitar Church, the Tsarevets Fortress, and the whole ensemble of the Assenov Quarter.

  1. The ethnographic complex together with the medieval village is the main accent of the project.
    It will consist of traditional old shops and little workshops characteristic of the time several centuries ago where mainly typical Bulgarian crafts will be represented, e.g. weaving, shoemaking, pottery, woodcarving, iconography, herb-gathering, bookman’s work, arms making, leather working, wine producing, goldsmith’s trade, etc. Masters will demonstrate their skills to the tourists who will be able to try and create their own products and take them away as souvenirs. One of the complex elements will be a small arts bazaar where artists, sculptors, and designers including students from the Art Department of the University of Veliko Tarnovo will expose their works. Art exhibitions will be organized here which will meet the requirements of the big number of tourists expected and will establish the image of Veliko Tarnovo as an arts centre.


  2. The medieval village adds to the whole ensemble. It will be organized as a place where authentic customs will be represented as well as the entire way of life of Tarnovgrad during the Middle Ages. For that purpose actors from Konstantin Kisimov Drama-and Music Theatre as well as amateur groups and students’ theatre formations will be engaged. Thus tourists will be able to get to know characteristic facts from our history and to get and preserve unique impressions. The form of the well-known from the near past Scenes from the Centuries is going to be repeated.


  3. The garden with rare sorts of trees , some of which growing now at that place, is the other important element of the project. Through it an artificial stream will flow, which will make the atmosphere even more unique. The greenery will be naturally separating the ethnographic complex with its attractions from the medieval village and the hotel. In it walking paths will be organized, there will be some summer houses and panoramic areas for relaxation as well situated mostly in the north part of the place where some additional fortification will be necessary and construction work will be limited.


  4. Hotel area. There will be a hotel with 50 beds and a possibility for longer staying. It will be a three- or four-star hotel with a spa centre and a congress hall. There will be place for some offices as well. e.g. a tourist information centre, presentation offices of big tourist companies, tourist agents, etc.


  5. Restaurant and panoramic cafe. The restaurant will bear the spirit of the old traditions. It will have a characteristic style and will offer meals prepared according to old Bulgarian recipes. Cooks will demonstrate their skills to tourists and will share their cooking secrets with them. The guests will be able to try and prepare a tasty meal themselves. Masters will reveal the secrets of the most popular Bulgarian herbs as well, which herbs can be used as both medicinal plants and spices.
    The panoramic cafe will have a view of the Tsarevets Hill. Our idea is that it can become a place for organizing special cocktails on different occasions as well as for meetings and relaxation in an atmosphere characteristic of the beginning of the last century.


  6. The parking lot is one very important element providing comfort to tourists. In order not to break the entire image of the complex, we hope the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo to cooperate for the construction of a parking lot for more than 100 cars. Thus some problems of the town could be solved having in mind the big number of visitors expected after the reconstruction of several buildings of cultural importance among which the St. Forty Martyrs Church close at hand. The Ristanite parking lot will be used by the groups visiting the Old Town as well.

It is planned the whole complex to be naturally continuing the ethnographic complex of Samovodska Charshia /Samovodene Bazaar/ and at the same time to be absolutely comfortable and to give very good and unforgettable impressions to tourists and guests of the town.
The value of the Ristanite project should not be calculated only on the basis of the investments to be made and the working places to be opened. It should be taken into consideration that it will contribute extraordinarily much to the good tourist image of the region. This is exactly the main idea of its author and future investor the Kastex Company.

Investment programme of The Kastex Company
with entertainment sites, an ethnographic complex, a hotel, auxiliary buildings and a parking lot


The company is planning to make a whole investment of more than 12. 000.000,00 leva for the Ristanite complex which will be fulfilled for a period of ten years. The sum comprises the resources for the buying of the area, the design and the construction of the buildings, their forming in the mode characteristic of the medieval centuries and their laying-out into an ensemble; the establishing of a hotel section, the restaurant and the place for entertainment as well as for the whole interior design, the layout of the park zone, the approaches to the building site and the construction of an attending parking lot.
The investment will be carried out in two stages:

  1. The short-term investment programme covers the period from 2006 till 2008 when the Ristanite complex should be completed. For its financing the Kastex company expects 6.000.000,00 leva. With the resources the main buildings, forming the village, will be completed and arranged. About 1.000.000,00 leva are to be invested in the formation of the ethnographic complex which is designed as a separate group. It comprises fifteen shops and workshops in the architecture style characteristic of the tsar’s period of Tarnovgrad in accordance with the data provided by written resources, the National Architecture Museum and experts from the Archeology Institute of the Bulgarian Science Academy. For the construction of the hotel section will be spent about 1.000.000,00 leva. The building will have fifty beds, spa centre, conference hall, and several offices. The “eating-house” type restaurant will be set up for approximately 1.000.000,00 leva. The building site will have 200 seats in two halls, a room for tasting food and beverages, a cellar and a kitchen panel. Part of the resources will be spent for the scenic cafe situated in the architectural complex. A building with offices and public-servicing activities will be constructed adding to the atmosphere of the complex estimated at about 500.000,00 leva. The park zone is one of the most important parts of the Ristanite. New sorts of trees are to be planted and the main species to be preserved. There will be alleys with benches for repose and rest. The investment will be coordinated by experts of garden- arranging as well as by experts from the University of Forestry. For that purpose the company lays out 500.000,00 leva. Construction works will be carried out because of the character of the terrain. In accordance with the researches made by geodesists this should be made with the construction of several supporting walls, terrace–like stopping constructions and planting of trees. For that purpose 500.000,00 leva will be needed. 1.000.000,00 leva will be spent for the building of roads, alleys and accesses to the complex. Almost half of the sum is invested in a parking lot for 100 cars as well as for the servicing appurtenances.


  2. The long-term investment Kastex programme concerning the Ristanite village of attractions continues to 2015 when 6.500.000,00 leva will be invested by stages which in their greater part will be expenditures for depreciation, renewal of the interior and the exterior of the complex, advertisement and making researches for its enlarging. After this period the company’s investments will continue by stages.