BVA

Kăšta (dwelling) complex
Zgurovski konak

Široka Laka, Bulgaria

Šhiroka Laka is a small village near Smolyan in the Rhodope mountains, and is protected as an architectural and ethnographic preserve. The dwellings are sited on the steep slopes of a narrow valley that descends to the Šhirokolaska River. The large Zgurovski konak (left in photo) was built in 1853 for a local administrator, and along with the neighboring residence shows regional construction methods and asymmetrical composition. Primarily built of masonry with wood reinforcement and wood frame construction for the south-facing parts of the upper living levels. (photo 2000)