Castle In Love With The Wind

Visiting the Ravadinovo Castle is like dreaming while awake. Guests call it a fantasy land, a magical place. Located in Bulgaria just minutes from the Black Sea, the castle’s name translates best to The Castle in Love with the Wind. The arresting architectural triumph is a dream come true for both the children and families who visit the castle and for the architect himself.

The castle’s beginnings: Georgi Kostadinov Tumpalov wished to build his own castle for his whole life. “Since my childhood, my dream was to have my own castle – the same as in the fairytales,” Tumpalov said. Born in 1956, Tumpalov read fairy tales each night as a child and spent his professional career as an award-winning architect and designer. He considers the Castle in Love with the Wind to be the highlight of his time in the field.

Tumpalov spent two decades building the castle. He started back in 1996 by drawing an enormous cross in an empty field near the village of Ravadinovo, and the marking served as the eventual ground plan for the castle.

Tumpalov and his family worked day after day, assisted by workers from the village of Ravadinovo, to turn 20,000 tons of stone from the bowels of the Strandzha Mountains into the elaborate cultural landmark that exists today. The stone from the mountains is metamorphosed limestone, or marble, and the material makes up the fences, the walls and towers, the chapel, the cellar, and even the bottom of the lakes near the castle. No castle can call itself a castle without a proper lake or two, and no lake is complete without a population of waterfowl to enjoy the resource and to fascinate the guests. Tumpalov did not come from money but believed that building the castle was a part of his destiny. “I did and paid for everything not with money, but with my life. Now after 20 years’ hard work, I realized that my dream has come true,” Tumpalov said. “I hope that the castle makes the people happy.”

Building a whole castle in only 20 years is no small feat. Visitors cherish the opportunity to see such an incredible, improbable work of architecture.