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All Bulgaria Kaspichan Madara Rider

Madara Rider

Rock carving created 1,300 years ago 75 feet off the ground.

Kaspichan, Bulgaria

Added By
Alex Timian
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The carving of the horseman. (Gerhard Palnstorfer/Flickr)   http://www.flickr.com/photos/palnstorfer/4...
The carving of the horseman. (Gerhard Palnstorfer/Flickr)   http://www.flickr.com/photos/palnstorfer/4...
The stone face of the 330-foot cliff. (Klearchos Kapoutsis/Flickr)   http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/280...
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About

In the 8th century, climbing something meant scrambling up it with your hands and feet. There were no climbing harnesses, and the first climbing carabiner was a thousand years away. It is important to keep these facts in mind when thinking about the Madara Rider, a stone relief in Bulgaria from around 710 CE.

The Madara Rider is a stone carving, not unlike many found around the world on the sides of cliffs or inside of caves. The Rider depicts a horse-backed warrior victorious over a lion, celebrating his kill with an eagle, and a dog at the horse’s hooves. In itself, the Rider is not a spectacular artistic effort.

However, the Rider was created 1,300 years ago, seventy five feet off of the ground on a nearly vertical rock cliff, which reaches more than two hundred and fifty feet above the relief. Inscriptions on the rock around the work mark events between 700-800 CE, and show a period of Bulgarian history before their conversion to Christianity. In a sense, this adds to the mystery of the relief, as it was a sacred pagan site prior to conversion.

You can still make out the grayhound-like dog behind the horse and the lion pierced by a spear in front, but a large vertical crack and centuries of moisture and wind have effaced much of the detail the carving must have originally offered. The inscriptions too have significant portions that are unintelligible. Both sculpture and inscriptions, carved in triumphant recognition of a Bulgarian state ascendant, were forgotten during the five centuries of Ottoman rule.

Aside from its date and the inscriptions in the area, little else is known of the Madara Rider, making the means of its creation all the more mysterious.

The Rider has been granted UNESCO World Heritage status based on the wonder of its creation. Along with global recognition, it gives a great deal of pleasure to Bulgarians. The Rider was minted on a number of Bulgarian coins around the year 2,000 and it has become a symbol of national pride.

The Madara archeological preserve contains far more than the Madara Horseman itself. It has beautiful walkways, large and small caves, and evidence of settlement from ancient times.

Related Tags

Inventions Architectural Oddities Ruins Horses Architecture

Know Before You Go

The Madara Rider is about a one-hour drive due west from the Black Sea city of Varna

If you are in Sumen then there are multiple buses to Madara.

As at October 2019 Shumen to Madara Bus - 7:00, 10:30, 1:00 and 5:40 p.m.

As at October 2019 Madara to Sumen Bus - 8:30, 11:10, 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Community Contributors

Added By

atimian

Edited By

risa, laksarichard

  • risa
  • laksarichard

Published

July 21, 2011

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Sources
  • Wikipedia: Madara Rider: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madara_Rider
  • Golden Sands: Excursions: Madara Rider: http://www.goldensands.bg/excursions/horseman.asp
  • UNESCO: World Heritage Convention: Madara Rider: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/43
Madara Rider
Kaspichan, 9930
Bulgaria
43.3, 27.15

Nearby Places

Bulgarian State Monument

Shumen, Bulgaria

miles away

Rock Monastery of Shashkunite

Provadia, Bulgaria

miles away

Chudnite Skali (Wonderful Rocks)

Asparuhovo, Bulgaria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Europe

Places 63
Stories 4

Nearby Places

Bulgarian State Monument

Shumen, Bulgaria

miles away

Rock Monastery of Shashkunite

Provadia, Bulgaria

miles away

Chudnite Skali (Wonderful Rocks)

Asparuhovo, Bulgaria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Europe

Places 63
Stories 4

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