Castle of Ravadinovo

Ravadinovo, Bulgaria, Bulgaria

---

The Castle of Ravadinovo, also called “In Love with the Wind,” is a modern, fairy-tale-like castle built in the village of Ravadinovo near Sozopol on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast.

It was conceived and personally designed by Georgi Kostadinov Tumpalov, who began work in 1996 and, with his family and local villagers, constructed the building over about 20 years using roughly 20,000 tons of stone, mainly marble limestone from the Strandzha Mountains and partly imported from Turkey.

Though it looks medieval from the outside, the castle is a 21st-century creation with an eclectic mix of Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, and even Gaudi-inspired elements, and its interior includes throne rooms, an art gallery, a porcelain and ancient maps museum, a chapel, and a winery where visitors can taste local wines. 

The surrounding park is a major attraction in itself, featuring exotic trees, lakes and ponds, willow-lined walkways, sculptures, gazebos, a small zoo with peacocks and other animals, a children’s playground, and horse-riding facilities, making the whole complex a family-oriented day-trip destination rather than a historic fortress.