Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Village near Razlog celebrates Todorovden with horse races

Photo: BGNES

According to popular belief, from Todorovden (Saint Theodore’s Day) onwards, the day begins to grow and the weather gets warmer and warmer. It is believed that on this day everyone who has a horse should take part in the festive horse races.

The village of Bachevo close to the town of Razlog in the Pirin Mountain is famous with its horse bases and its residents will celebrate Todorovden with traditional horse races. On the holiday that is celebrated on the first Saturday of the Great Lent, both young and old dress in traditional costumes. The festive activities will begin with a morning liturgy at the local church of Saint Demetrius and then in the centre of the village a folk ritual will be held entitled the Bowing of the young brides – newly-wed brides facing the sunrise will bow three times to their mothers-in-law three times to show how low they can reap. Before noon the horse races will start.

The love of the Bachevo locals for horses is not accidental - the horse is present in the coat of arms of the village, and horse breeding is the main livelihood of the village inhabitants. The three horse bases attract many tourists, including from abroad, offering horseback riding, hiking, archery, and the increasingly popular hippotherapy (horse-assisted treatment).

Bachevo currently has 1,600 inhabitants, many of whom are young people.




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The Folk Costume Festival in Bulgaria's Zheravna takes us back in time

From today until August 24, the 15th Folklore Costume Festival Zheravna 2025 is taking place in the Dobromeritsa area.   Over 30 kaba bagpipers will kick off the event (8:00 p.m.), which every year gathers thousands of visitors dressed in..

published on 8/22/25 6:00 PM
Photo: Bulgarian Folk Dance Ensemble

Jantra Folklore Ensemble from Budapest to dance at BalkanFolk Festival in Palma de Mallorca

Bulgarian dance ensemble “Jantra” from Budapest will participate in the fourth edition of the International Folklore Festival “BalkanFolk”, which will be held in early October in Palma de Mallorca, BTA has reported. The initiative..

published on 8/19/25 12:49 PM

Three days, six stages and over 7,000 participants – Koprivshtitsa brings together the best amateurs from Bulgaria

The heart and rhythm of the Bulgarian spirit – with these words we can metaphorically define the National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore. Traditionally, since the distant 1965, the event has been organized once every five years on the first weekend of..

published on 8/6/25 12:14 PM