Cultural Corridors of South East Europe

Heritage at Risk

Madara Rider

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Madara Rider

About the site


Corridor: Via Pontica
Country: Bulgaria, Madara, Shumen
Type: Ancient Site
Epoch: Middle Ages
Theme:
World Heritage: Cultural Heritage
Middle AgesAncient SiteCultural Heritage

The Madara Rider, representing the figure of a knight triumphing over a lion, is carved into a 100-m-high cliff near the village of Madara in north-east Bulgaria. Madara was the principal sacred place of the First Bulgarian Empire before Bulgaria's conversion to Christianity in the 9th century. The inscriptions beside the sculpture tell of events that occurred between A.D. 705 and 801.

UNESCO
 


Read more about Madara Rider at the Unesco World Heritage List.

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