Livelihoods, crafts and arts

Agricultural traditions during the First Bulgarian state are known to have begun with the settlement of the Slavic tribes in these lands. They were farmers by longstanding tradition.

Some scholars believe that copper mining and the manufacture of copper objects began in Asia Minor. Others maintain that metallurgy developed independently in the Balkan Peninsula because of its large copper deposits.

One of the remarkable artistic achievements of the Golden Age under Tsar Simeon was Preslav painted ceramics. Several workshops have been discovered in the capital, Preslav, situated within monastic complexes.

Throughout its history, Bulgarian decorative metalwork has been inseparably linked with handicrafts and the manufacture of various objects for everyday use. This craft is applied to making tools, household objects, ornaments and other items.

Orthodox churches were richly decorated with frescoes and icons. Among the notable examples of high artistic value are the frescoes in Boyana Church, Bachkovo Monastery and the rock-hewn monasteries near the village of Ivanovo in the Ruse region.

There are two types of mosaic: floor and wall mosaics. The earliest attested mosaic in the territory of the First Bulgarian Empire was in the tenth-century Royal Church at Veliki Preslav.