Rhodope Karst Museum
In 1950, the pioneer of caving in the area - Dimitar Raychev, created a geology group at the local school, which set up the beginning of caving. In 1963, he and several scientific specialists and caving enthusiasts created the local Cave Club. For the next five years they explored about 200 caves in the Rhodope Mountains, and the result of this joint effort was gathered in the Cave Museum, which opened doors in 1968. A team of scientists at differet national cultural institutions further developed and enriched the collected material into an exposition which can be seen today at the Rhodope Karst Museum, which is one of a kind in the Balkan Peninsula. It displays wonderful exhibits, about 970, preserved since the dawn of human history. The main collection contains about 9,400 exhibits; scientific, research and education collection of 7,100 pieces, an exchange collection with 170 pices, hall for guest exhibitions, a library with 730 volumes of scientific literature, a lab and a 60-seats conference room. The total floorage is 870 sq. m. In 2019 the museum has been fully renovated.
