The Mountain is joy. The Mountain is life. The Mountain energizes. Walking in the Mountain is an incredible, exciting and unique adventure. Every time, she is new, changed, not always hospitable, but always beautiful. She, the Mountain, can put a spell on you! If you see all of her, you will love her forever!
To get to know a mountain, you not only have to "see all of her", but also to listen to her stories, to immerse yourself in her fairy tales and find out a little more about her.
There are so many stories and legends, and without their various shades of colour, there is no way to truly "understand" the Mountain!
Old legend has it that Rila was once a young woman, and her beloved, whom she married, was called Pirin.
Rila and Pirin got married against the will of Rila's parents. The parents did not agree to this marriage, because they did not know Pirin and had no idea where he was from, who he was, whose son he was, and whether he had a trade with which he could earn a living for his family. Rila herself was a very beautiful, quick-witted and wayward girl, she did whatever she wanted, without listening to her parents' words.
The two lovers got married without a wedding and witnesses, without celebrations and songs, without a blessing from their parents. They chose to live away from people in a high and secluded place. Before long, two beautiful children were born – a boy and a girl. They named them Iskar and Mesta, names that no one had heard before. While the mother ran the house and looked after the children, the father went hunting. The two children were very unruly and naughty. They fought, they quarrelled, they made a big fuss all day long. Their mother did not approve of this at all and complained to their father, begging him to take matters into his own hands and tame them with a fatherly word and presence.
But Pirin never listened to his wife Rila and did not pay attention to her complaints. He had another care – to provide food and clothes for his children, leaving their upbringing to their mother.
One day the two children quarrelled a lot, said harsh words to each other, even got into a fight. This time their mother could not stand it and voiced her grief. Rila started cursing her fate, she wished their children would never meet again and that all people would be afraid and run away from them. She herself begged to be petrified so that she could be silent forever and instead of her children she preferred the trees to be her offspring. She did not spare Pirin either, and wished that he, just like her, would be petrified by the shame that their children had caused them, in order to preserve his honour and not be mocked by people.
As soon as Rila finished her heavy words, a strong lightning flashed in the sky, slashing it like a whip. A terrible thunder could also be heard, and a moment later, Rila turned into a mountain, as we know her today. At the same time, Pirin was away hunting, when suddenly, he too became petrified and turned into a mountain.
Their two children turned into rivers. The girl, Mesta, was gentler and humbler than her brother, and her waters flew gently and calmly down the mountain. Her brother, Iskar, wild and unruly, charged straight ahead, dividing the mountain and descending headlong straight down to the field. Having no place to calm the ever-increasing waters, filled by his mother's tears, he headed for Stara Planina. He made his way through and merged with the waters of the Danube – unstoppable and wayward like it.
From that day, Iskar heard nothing more about his sister Mesta. Like every mother, Rila sees them on their way, but then loses them out of sight. Pirin never saw Iskar again and has been mourning his son since that sad day. That is why his side, facing the Sofia Field, is always green and dark, rarely lit by the Sun. For his comfort, he can see Mesta who cheers him up and fills his heart with fatherly love. Smiling and inviting, he attracts people to himself, so that they too can see his beautiful daughter and admire her together with him.