Tourist Attractions

Sound and Light Show in Veliko Tarnovo – Bulgaria

The idea for the show dates back to the early 60s of the last century when the National Development Committee of Veliko Tarnovo plans on developing the old capital as a historical, cultural and tourist center. 630 km cable network, 2 400 color lasers, 140 lightnings and 6 real beating bells, whose weight varies from 600 kg to 6 tons, are included in a special computer - controlled system in order to present this unique attraction. The funds invested in the creating of the audio-visual show are over 10 million leva.

 

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The Beginning

The idea for the spectacle dates back to the late 1960s, when the People’s Committee for the Development of Veliko Tarnovo organized and planned the development of the old capital as a historical, cultural and tourist center.

When the archaeological research and restoration of the Tsarevets fortress began, the possibility of restoring the bell tower of the Patriarchal Church and installing a bell that would ring at certain times was discussed.

There are three initial scenarios for a programme-performance at Tsarevets Fortress. The proposal of director Valo Radev, who, together with Jaromir Hnik and with the participation of the popular Czech musician Jiri Stivin, leads the Bulgarian-Czech collective that implemented the project, is being implemented. The creation and implementation of the program are carried out by the Czechoslovak Center for Fine Arts “Art Centrum” – Prague.

630 km of underground cable network, spread over an area of over 100 acres, 2,400 colored projectors, 140 flashes and 6 real ringing bells, weighing from 600 kg to 6 tons, are included in a computer-controlled system to present this unique attraction. Over 10 million leva were invested in the construction of the audio-visual programme.

The delivery of the equipment and installation on site was supposed to take place in two stages and the site was to be put into operation on June 1, 1983. However, the facilities were finally ready in the fall of 1985 and the premiere of the show was on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the uprising of the brothers Asen and Peter and the resumption of the Bulgarian state.


The Scenario

There are three initial scripts for a programme-performance at Tsarevets Fortress. They are by the writers Serafim Severnyak and Anton Donchev and by the director Valo Radev, whose project was realized.

On January 27, 1970, the Executive Bureau of the All-People’s Committee for the Development of Veliko Tarnovo, led by Pencho Kubadinski, at that time Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Transport and Communications, assigned the District People’s Council and the City People’s Council – Veliko Tarnovo to “organize a creative team for the development, design and implementation of “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light” at Tsarevets”.

“The Legend of Tarnovo” is the name of the script for the sound and light show by Serafim Severnyak. In several parts, it traces the history of Bulgaria from its establishment in 681 to the capture of Tarnovo by the Ottoman Turks in 1393. According to the author’s concept, the production was to be observed against the backdrop of Tsarevets in a special auditorium, where static panels – stained glass, sgraffito or murals – depicted key historical moments with texts. In this environment, it was planned to play music and have a theatrical spectacle, accompanied by bell ringing and light effects from Tsarevets and the churches in Asenov quarter.

For an auditorium, from which the panorama of the night Tsarevets is observed in an organized manner, there is also the script by writer Anton Donchev from 1978. It has over 22 actors, including the kings Asen, Kaloyan and Ivan-Asen II, Baldwin of Flanders, Ivailo, Patriarch Evtimii and Grigory Tsamblak.

The idea of director Valo Radev from 1979 was for two programs. The first – “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light” was supposed to be realized by the end of 1980 on the occasion of the 1300th anniversary of the Bulgarian state. The second – Veliko Tarnovo – “Rondorama” was intended “to show in a kinetic way the rich cultural heritage of the Middle Ages, organically woven into the present-day appearance of the city”. In practice, only the script for the first programme “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light”, which incorporated kinetic plastic images combined with sound and light images, was realized.


Construction and Maintenance

The Czechs, who participated in the development of the program and the construction of the facilities for “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light”, gave the show 12 years of life. However, the forecast turned out to be wrong and for over 40 years the show, created by the creative team of directors Valo Radev and Jaromir Hnik, has been in its original form and has been admiring the audience for over 40 years.

The creation and implementation of the program are carried out by the Czechoslovak Center for Fine Arts “Art Centrum”. The work began in 1980 and in November 1985 the premiere of an 8-minute performance took place. The show was further developed and enriched with new light and sound elements up to 18 minutes and was handed over for exploitation by the Czech side in April – 1988.

Despite the agreements, the Czechs do not provide warranty and post-warranty service for the system, and maintenance is taken care of entirely by a Bulgarian team of high-current and low-current specialists, mechanics, a laser physicist, and security.

Over the years, the main challenge was the resource of the facilities. Initially, the lighting part was controlled by an American computer INTEL 8080, and the sound was supplied by an 8-channel tape recorder TEAS 80, with the sound part being implemented with three channels.

The central control and sound section was modernized and transferred to a new computer in 2014. The original gas-discharge argon and krypton lasers were replaced with two new generation lasers with air cooling and low power consumption. Modernization of the peripheral equipment is pending.

In 40 years, there has not been a single failed broadcast of “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light” due to technical reasons.


Funds

10,388,328.62 leva are the funds invested in the construction of the Audio-Visual Programme “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light”.

The contract for the design and implementation of the program with the Czechoslovak general contractor “Art Centrum” – Prague was concluded on December 29, 1980. The amount was broken down into 420,000 leva, 3,205,500 transferable rubles and 391,600 US dollars. The Bulgarian side made the payments annually until 1988 through the foreign trade organization “Hemus”.

According to the documents, the operating expenses for the show are 9,580,376.67 leva. The crew’s travel, daily allowances and accommodation costs amounted to 445,391.95 leva, and the creative team of directors Valo Radev and Jaromir Hnik received a fee of 42,000 leva.

The delivery of the equipment and installation on site were supposed to take place in two stages and the site was to be put into operation on June 1, 1983. However, the facilities were finally ready in 1985 and the premiere of the show was on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the uprising of the brothers Asen and Petar, and the resumption of the Bulgarian state.


Installations

The underground cable network that supplies and controls the systems of “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light” is 630 km long. The performance facilities are built on an area of 100 acres on Tsarevets Hill, and the various systems are controlled by a computer. The sound and data carriers for the light part are installed in the command center, from where the operating modes are switched.

The peripheral lighting consists of 2,400 colored spotlights, with each light point having a red, blue, green and yellow spotlight, placed in a specific order and directed at objects on the hill. There are 140 flashes and positioned towards the spectators, and there are two lasers – red and green.

The system also includes 6 real ringing bells weighing from 600 kg to 6 tons.

The entire facility is powered by a ring of 6 transformers with a voltage of 20 kV, and the periphery is controlled by 72 boards connected to the transformer stations and the central computer. The total installed power of the audio-visual spectacle is 3.5 megawatts.


The Bells

The six bells that ring at Tsarevets in the programme “Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light” took almost five years to make and install. They were made by the Manousek family in Czechoslovakia in the 1980s.

Manousek are hereditary craftsmen. Rudolf Manousek was the last Czech bell-caster before World War II, who made hundreds of bells from 1906 to 1940. He passed on his teachings to his son Rudolf, who, together with his son Peter, was engaged in the production of the bells for the spectacle. The sculptural decoration was entrusted to a woman from the family – Kvetoslava Manouseková.

The three small bells, weighing up to 680 kg, were made in the Manouszkowi family foundry in Zbraslav. The other three, weighing up to 6,300 kg, were cast by Czechs in a workshop in the German town of Apolda (then in the GDR), with the molds made on site. The bells were then returned to Zbraslav for shaping of the hooks, tongues and sound samples.

An unexpected difficulty turned out to be the harmony of the bells in the place where they were to be placed. Because of the shape of the Tsarevets peninsula, there was a risk that the sound would resonate instead of spreading. Therefore, Peter Manousek brought 4 bells intended for churches from the Czech Republic and began rehearsals. A temporary scaffold was erected on the fortress, and the sound samples were recorded by a television crew. For 10 days, the scaffold was moved up the hill until the most suitable place was found, where each bell would sound beautifully and at the same time blend in with the tones of the other bells. Only after these rehearsals and calculations was the final project made.

All bells are designed the same – each one has the inscription “1300 years of Bulgaria – Veliko Tarnovo”, and the city’s coat of arms is placed so that it stands out as the main element. Due to the different sizes of the bells, the inscriptions and images were made separately by the sculptor Kvetoslava Manoushkova. In order to perfectly shape the external vision, she learned the ancient Bulgarian alphabet and studied the coat of arms of Veliko Tarnovo with the three lions with a magnifying glass, because the original she had was the size of a postage stamp. Kvetoslava also placed the Manoushek family emblem on the bells – a small bell, a key and a flower.

Finally, the bells are surface-finished and a golden patina is applied to them. Petar comes to Veliko Tarnovo and under his leadership the installation of the bells takes place so that the sound that spreads over the centuries can be wonderful.

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