In the National Revival period there appeared a new type of buildings intended for public use. Religious and administrative buildings such as clock towers, bridges, schools, fountains emerged. The then modern architectural design of those buildings spoke of the growing national spirits and increasing wealth of Bulgarian people in that period. The earliest type of public buildings in the Revival period are the clock towers.

“1814: The building of Tryavna Clock Tower (Trevnenski saat)”

 The building of the Clock Tower in Tryavna in 1814 resulted from the boom of crafts and commerce during the National Revival period. The main function of it was to measure time and to point the town central place, which was the area for public events and social contacts. This magnificent building was used to regulate the working time and hours, but also it was meant to serve as a firefighting tower and watchtower.

 The Clock Tower in Tryavna is one of the emblematic landmarks and a principal artistic accentuation in the presentation of the architectural ensemble of Tryavna town. It is distinguishable by its perfect harmonious proportions. The building itself consists of three units situated one above the other. The base is in the shape of regular-based square truncated pyramid. There are two incrementing octagonal prisms above the base. The walls of the base unit, which are 95 cm thick, were made of crushed stone reinforced with special beams, called santrach (the cross wooden beams between the stone walls). The overall height of the Clock Tower, including the cone apex on the top measures 21 meters. 

 Legend has it that Tryavna women had to stop wearing the beautiful jeweled headpiece called “sokaj” in order for the building of the clock tower in their town to be allowed. Legend has it that one day the wealthy men from Tryavna went to Tarnovo to see the ottoman administrator Feyzi agha with the purpose to obtain permission for the building of a clock tower in the very center of their town. He listened carefully to the representatives of Tryavna and said shortly: He was to grant such a permission provided that Tryavna women would stop wearing the beautiful jeweled headpiece called “sokaj”, which resembled a royal tiara. Wearing it, women looked like queens walking with their heads high up. The skillfully and finely embroidered headband would fall heavily and majestically on their shoulders and by wearing such ornaments Tryavna women spread beauty and dignity around. The local leaders then went back to Tryavna and announced agha’s decision to everybody. Not for a moment did women hesitate. Each one of them took her sokaj off her head right away and carefully folded it deep into her coffer safekeeping it as a most valuable relic to hand out to next generations. 

So the Clock Tower of Tryavna rose its graceful body over the entire Balkan mountain. The sound of its bell ringing is heard all around telling the story of Tryavna women’s courage and pride. This is how the Clock Tower of Tryavna was built, for which in 1815 the brothers Kanyu and Genyu Radoslavovi elaborated and installed the clock mechanism kit.

In 1971 the clock mechanism was enhanced with a musical device that every evening at 22 o’clock would play the beautiful song “The inseparables” by Pencho Slaveykov. This song became the anthem of Tryavna town. In 1996 by initiative of the physics teacher, Violeta Tacheva, a Foucault pendulum was installed to illustrate the Earth’s rotation at its axis.

The people of Tryavna love their Clock Tower so very much. In this respect, Pencho Slaveykov would ironically tell this story in his memories: “In 1889 I was casually telling to a local man about the Paris Exhibition and … the Eiffel tower, how high it was and how majestic it looked. This patriot from Tryavna just cut me out shortly: “Well, is it higher than our clock tower?”. And no matter how much I tried to convince him that it was some twenty times higher than the Tryavna tower, the good old local man would doubtfully give a faint smile: “Well, have you seen it yourself?” When I replied “No” he just could not believe how I “the educated man” could have let myself to the Germans … to have me so obviously deceived. “Hum, there couldn’t be anything higher than our clock tower!” – and that was the end of our conversation.”