Jane's Walk 2016 in Haskovo: "Once upon a time... there was a river"

This year we decided to organize Jane's walk along the river. This is the famous river from Shturcite's famous song "Sreshta". The river crosses the city from west to east, and divides the town on two parts. It runs through the center, and shapes its form, size, and infrastructure. For good and for bad, the river is an important part of our city. But fifteen years ago the local authorities decided to cover the river with concrete and made parking lots and shops on it. How can we re-integrate the river as an element of our city's landscape? How can take it back and reconnect with it? How to shift our perception about it from a channel to a lively place?

We walked, observed and thought on these questions. During our walk, new questions came out and we are now full with impressions, thoughts and ideas.

At the Meeting point. Some people who got know each other. The retired school teacher Todor Stratiev brought some old photographs from his childhood, presenting what the river was like 50-60 years ago. The environmentalist Mariana Valcheva was interested. 

More people gather together. Our walk is bycicle, pets, and children friendly, so +Simon Zenopian came with his bike, and +Lydia Staikova and myself came with our son Petar. +Hristo Dimchev brought an Eeyore-like mood, but  eventually he replaced it with beer. 

Several decades ago, the river was full of water and fish. Why everything changed? Todor Stratiev explained: "For agricultural reasons, the government build a dam in a village nearby, so the most of the water is used for watering the plants. The river became just a small stream, so in few years the young lads caught all the fish." Sad, isn't it?

We saw that some of the most significant places in Haskovo are located by the river. Here we are posing on the bridge to the old school. During our walk we decided that the bridges' number is too small. There is a need for more pedestrian bridges. 

This plate on the school's wall memorize that on this place the great Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski founded a secret revolutionary committee for the liberation of the Bulgarian nation from Ottoman rule. 

 Near the river there are two Renaissance Orthodox churches. 

This is the first one, and it's dedicated to Virgin Mary. 

 A rock with a humble script in memory of 70 innocent Bulgarians, hanged by the Ottomans. 

The second church near the river, dedicated to Archangel Michael. 

This photo testifies how the river was covered with concrete and shops were build on it. 

Is this what the river deserves? Is this what the citizens deserve?

One of the many tobacco stores in Haskovo. The city was a major center of 

tobacco industry in Bulgaria. 

 The (only) theater of Haskovo.

The former headquarters of the Bulgarian communist party in Haskovo. 

Nowadays it is a business center.

Seventy years ago this place was known as The Jewish park. In this area lived the Jewish community of Haskovo. Almost all of our Jewish fellow citizens moved to Israel in the late 1940s.

 Former headquarters of the tobacco company. 

One of the most important bridges in Haskovo. This is the main connection of the south part 

of the city with the center and the rest of the neighbourhoods.

Then we passed several important sites located along the river: the regional branch of the University for National and World Economy, two hypermarkets, and the football stadium "Mladost". Obviously, the boulevard along the river is a concentration of major landmarks and social places in our cities. 

And finally we closed our long walk with the traditional and unique contribution of 

Haskovo to the Jane's Walk movement: Jane's beer. :)