In Bulgaria there are many small cosy towns with important historical and architectural meaning. One of such provincial towns is Melnik. In the south-western part of Bulgaria there are the world-known Melnik Pyramids (vertical limestone cliffs of bizarre form), which represent one of natural places of interest of Bulgaria.
Among the pyramids there lies Melnik - one of the smallest but the most interesting towns of Bulgaria. Its small houses with architecture specific for the period of Bulgarian Renaissance are beautifully located on steep, almost vertical cliffs.
In the early Middle Ages Melnik was a borderline settlement and found itself on this or that side of the Bulgarian and Byzantine border. In XVII - XVIII centuries due to the production of high-quality tobacco and rich red wine Melnik turned into a prosperous trading town known far beyond the boundaries of Bulgaria.
In the vicinity of Melnik there is the Rozhen Monastery. Among the five churches of the Renaissance period, which have preserved in Melnik, the most interesting one is the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker (1756). They suggest that it was built by the same master who in 1754 built a residential house of singular beauty for Manolis Kordopulos, a wine merchant well known all over Europe.
Bulgarian folk art praises the wine. Many songs are devoted to red wine.
Melnik is the most famous Bulgarian town connected with red wine; with the name of the town they associated exquisite properties of wine, which was so thick it could be carried in a napkin. Caravans with this wine reached Spain. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon produced in Melnick are exported to many countries of the world. Today in Melnik one can see the largest wine casks built into the rocks.
