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

Pair of storks nest on the bell tower of the church in Bansko

Photo: BTA

For decades, the bell tower of the Holy Trinity Church in Bansko shelters a pair of storks. Elderly local people say that since their childhood they remember the long-legged harbingers of spring that inhabit the top of the tower. Therefore, no one in the resort town, located in the foothills of Pirin, was surprised when this spring the stork couple returned to Bansko and chose the bell tower's nest to raise their offspring again. 
The return of the storks is an event expected by the residents of the towns, Georgi Angelov, who for three years has been among the group of men who ring the church bells for every holiday, told BTA. ‎


For the past three years, he has been the man who puts food on the top of the bell tower for the birds on cold days.
In 2020, nature presented a surprise - abundant snow in the spring. Then local people raise the alarm that the storks have no food, and fishermen and the owner of a fishing shop in the town provide fish, which Georgi delivered to the home of the stork family. This was repeated over the next few years. 


This year, a colder spell is again expected but people always respond and, if necessary, fish will be provided for the storks, Angelov said.‎

Photos: BTA


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 number of foreign students in Bulgaria has doubled over the past decade

In 2024, Bulgaria has 15,737 foreign students, making up 8.6% of all current students in the country. By comparison, this share has doubled over the past decade. This data comes from NACID , updated annually in the Bulgarian University Ranking..

published on 4/5/25 11:15 AM

Divers clean the seabed around Sozopol fishing port

Divers will clean the seabed around the port of Sozopol today, reports BTA. "Since 2018, we have been doing the cleaning, completely voluntarily, with our own resources, with the idea of doing something useful for everyone," said Nayden Nedev, diving..

published on 4/5/25 7:50 AM

Fire destroys the roof of the historic National High School of Applied Arts in Tryavna

The roof of the National High School of Applied Arts in Tryavna , a cultural landmark with almost a century of history, was destroyed in a fire early this morning. The blaze broke out around 3 a.m. and spread rapidly due to the building's wooden beam..

published on 4/4/25 1:37 PM