Interesting Places Nearby
Gabrovo
Gabrovo is a town in central Bulgaria, an administrative and economic center of homonymous municipality of Gabrovo and district of Gabrovo. It is situated along the Yantra River at the northern foot of the Shipka part of the Balkan Mountains.
According to the most common legend, Gabrovo was founded by Racho Kovacha about 250 years ago. The story reads that he was a wandering master smith who settled under a hornbeam.
Gabrovo emerged during the middle ages as a strategic settlement near the Balkan Mountains passages. Two kilometers east of the town is the fortress "Gradishte". The archeologists date the fortress “Gradishte” as late antique and early medieval (4th - 6th century) based on the discovered gold and copper coins back to the time of Roman Emperors Constantine I the Great (306-307 A.D.) and Justen II(565-578 A.D.).
In archaeological studies of the territory of the fortress, a fortress wall, about 4 km long, which was used to enclose the fortress, 42 densely built residential buildings, premises of the garrison guarding the fortress, the main entrance and three guardian towers were discovered. At the highest part of the fortress “Gradishte”, there was the main temple, built in the 4th century, where later a building for baptisms called a baptistery was added. Gradishte Fortress was destructed and reconstructed many times over the years. It is believed that it ceased to exist after the Ottoman rule over Bulgaria.
In close proximity to the town, in the picturesque area of Uzana, is the geographic centre of Bulgaria. Uzana is an attractive tourist destination for both skiers and hikers.
Interesting places to visit in Gabrovo are:
The House of Humor and Satire
The town is famous for its humor, that is why it is the most interesting place to visit - find out why the Gabrovians are so "stingy" and laugh at their famous humor.
Architectural and Ethnographic Complex "Etar" - one of the most interesting places to visit.
The architectural and ethnographic complex "Etar" is the first of its kind museum in Bulgaria. It was opened on 7 September 1964. The museum is located 8 km south of the town of Gabrovo. The idea of the creation of “Etar” is attributed to Lazar Donkov.
There are 50 objects in the museum – water-powered technical facilities, houses with craft workshops, objects of public importance. The aim of the museum exhibition is to reveal the architecture, customs of the people and economic past of Gabrovo and the Gabrovo region during the Revival period - the second half of the 18th and 19th centuries. This is a time when more than 26 crafts were being developed in the town, whose products were marketed in Bucharest, Vienna, Marseilles, and Anatolia. In 1835, the first secular new Bulgarian school was opened here. The favourable economic and political changes that occurred in the Empire in 1830s contributed to the rise of Gabrovo as a major economic, spiritual-and- educational and trade center.
National Aprilov High School
The building of the National Aprilov High School started as early as 1851. It has been a cultural monument since 1979. Since 1889, it has been named Aprilov High School in honour of Vasil Aprilov, on whose initiative, the Gabrovo School was founded. There has also been a monument of Vasil Aprilov in front of the high school since 1935.
National Museum of Education
It is located in the building of the National Aprilov High School. The museum is on the list of 100 national tourist sites and is 19th in it. It was established in 1974. It is the only specialized museum in Bulgaria that keeps and reflects how education was conducted years ago.
Regional History Museum - Gabrovo
In the museum, visitors can see Paleolithic finds such as a cave bear, bones of ancient man, tools of labour, and more. They were found in the Bacho Kiro Cave, which is among the 100 national tourist sites. It is located near the Dryanovo Monastery in the direction of the West. The museum has 4 departments: Archeology Department; "Bulgaria 15th - 19th Century" Department; Ethnography Department and New and Modern History Department.
Racho Kovacha Monument
The Racho Kovacha Monument is located on a rock in the Yantra River. According to the legend, he was the founder of the town of Gabrovo.
National Astronomical Observatory and Planetarium - Gabrovo
The star hall of the planetarium has 50 seats for visitors. It shows the Earth's sky from any point of view on the planet. The Astronomical Observatory is equipped with an American telescope "Celestron 14", with which scientists observe the Sun, Moon, other satellites, planets, etc.
Zoo
The zoo in Gabrovo was established in 1973. It has 150 animals and birds of nearly 40 species.
Sevlievo
Sevlievo - this town is situated in the southeast end of Devetashko Plateau, near the geographical center of Bulgaria. The average altitude of Sevlievo is relatively low about 200 meters. Sevlievo emerged as a military-strategic center in the 10th century. A powerful defensive fortress built 3 km away from the current location of the town has been preserved even to this day. The town existed until the end of 17th century, after which it established itself as the centre of a Turkish administrative kaza. In the early 18th century, Vasil Levski created the first revolutionary committee.
SIGHTS
IN SEVLIEVO REGION
City-fortress Hotalich
City-fortress Hotalich near Sevlievo - Four kilometers northwest of Sevlievo, the medieval city-fortress Hotalich is located. Evaluating strategically the place over the Rositsa River Gorge on Krushovska Mountain, Byzantium built the fortress as early as the 5th century. In the 10th century, in the same place, the Bulgarian state began building a defense facility to protect the country from barbaric attacks from the north and from Byzantium from the south. The built fortress was the largest area outside the capitals of Pliska, Preslav and Tarnovo.
Architectural and Ethnographic Complex
"Dandolovi Houses"
Architectural and Ethnographic Complex "Dandolovi Houses" - An incredible building, which presents the typical town houses and workshops, was built in 1870 in the central parts of the town. The expositions acquaint visitors with the rural and urban lifestyle of this region and the beauty of the products of the Sevlievo craftsmen during the Revival period.
It is open for visiting every weekday.
Batoshevo girls’ and Batoshevo men's monastery "Assumption of the Virgin Mary"
National Revival Leather Workshop "Tabahana"
Hadzhistoyanovo School
One of the first secular schools on the Bulgarian lands.
Town of Apriltsi
The town of Apriltsi is located in North Bulgaria, Lovech District / 200km northeast of Sofia, 500-600 m above sea level, over 4000 inhabitants/. The town is situated at the foot of Botev Peak - a peak of the Balkan Mountains, making it a desirable destination for rest and recreation in the mountain. Apriltsi spreads into a fabulously beautiful spacious valley with an incredible panoramic view. It is known in Bulgarian history with the heroism of the Balkan people during the April Uprising in 1876. The town was formed by the merger of four villages - Novo Selo, Zla Reka, Vidima and Ostrets in honour of the 100th anniversary of the April Epic. Apriltsi is a preferred tourist destination and is 32 km away from Sevlievo.