Tryavna School of Builders is part of the Bulgarian construction industry in the Revival period. Two schools for master builders appeared in this center – the early school of Dimitar Sergyuv and the late school of Gencho Kanev. The works of their hands became focal phenomena of architectural tradition both in the region and for the entire country in general. 

Tryavna appeared as a settlement in 1565, as its inhabitants were charged with the mission to defend the roads and passages. In exchange for their service, they could benefit from some administrative and tax reliefs. This explains how the settlement easily became a significant cultural and trading center. The geographical peculiarities and landscape of the region guided the people living in this locality of the Balkan Mountains to master and develop more than 40 crafts and trades, and over time construction, wood-carving and icon-painting became the main trades, which the settlement is known for until today. 

Local master builders created and developed maybe the oldest artistic school in Bulgarian lands – the Tryavna School, which started in the middle of 17th century. Based on the old traditions of construction works, master builders were able to adapt the novelties in this trade to the particular situation and to transform them through their own artistic views into distinctive landmarks for the region. Bulgarian academic thought defined this local construction, wood-carving and icon-painting center as the focus of “the most wide-ranging practice and comprehensive works of art”. 

Construction is the oldest activity of the people inhabiting these lands as they needed to have houses, public and religious buildings. The name of dülger (carpenter) Marko was entered in the registers of taxpayers dating from the end of 17th century, and the builder Karcho was the forefather of one of the most renowned family of icon-painters and wood-carvers in Tryavna – the Vitanov’s family.  

The master builders, who were engaged with the most difficult and responsible mission in people’s lives, usually came from the adjacent villages and by the end of 19th century together with the wood-carvers and icon-painters, they numbered more than 3000 people. By 1845 only the men engaged in the construction industry in Tryavna were more than 127 masters, apprentices and starters. This included all complementary trades such as stone-cutting and shaping, door and window framing, involved in the construction of buildings. United into the guild of wood carvers and carpenter as early as the beginning of 19th century, they were able to create an original and recognizable style of their own that remained part of the architectural heritage of Bulgaria. A great part of the buildings they constructed are now cultural monuments having a special status for protection. More than 514 builders have forever inscribed their names and works in more than 406 settlements, among which stood out the villages of Zheravna, Kotel, Bozhentsi, which turned into some sort of outdoor museums of Tryavna architecture from the Revival period. 

The master builders from Tryavna made churches, schools, bridges, they built the houses where wood-carvers and icon-painters imparted their perceptions for beauty and harmony in a tangible synchrony to the taste and lifestyle of the people living in the Balkan Mountains. The constructed houses, religious and public buildings, were united into four architectural ensembles to give an idea of how Tryavna looked during the Revival period, and how it preserved its atmosphere of intimacy and harmony to nowadays. The architectural frame of the settlement consists of four neighborhoods (mahala): Upper, Middle, Lower and Kachavun, the latter forming a separate residential development.  

The architectural cultural monuments in this town in the Balkan Mountains number more than 140, eight of them have a national importance status. Amidst the streets with trade stores there were local public amenity areas. The Old Square ensemble was the place that united the most important and emblematic religious and public buildings and houses in Tryavna. For their construction the master builder focused his attention predominantly to satisfy the everyday needs of people related to their household and professional activities while taking into account also the landscape peculiarities.

The training and mastery of builders was conducted throughout all the stages of their work experience until they learnt the niceties of that profession and mastered the skills to design, adapt and keep the ethnic-specific nature of Bulgarian houses. They became the best master builders in Bulgaria. The names of some of those master builders were architect Dimitar Sergyuv, usta (Turkish for master) Gencho Kanev (the Great), Gencho Novakov (the Little one), Pavli Kolev, Nikola Kasev, Dragoshin Dragoshinov, Georgi Kolev, Grozyu Enchev (Mavroto) and many others, who handed their professional knowledge and mastery down from generation to generations. Tryavna architecture from the Revival period resulted from the effort and work of local master builders or whole regional groups. It is actually a phenomenon of national importance, which left behind remarkable works and set the trail for generations of professionals to come. It developed into all the aspects of housing constructions and public works, as the master builders worked in the vast geographical area extending from Braila to Constantinople and from today’s Northwestern Bulgarian lands to the Black Sea.