Central Bulgaria & the Balkan Range
21 lesser-known places in Central Bulgaria & the Balkan Range, with history, curiosities, a map and tours nearby.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
21 places
Alyosha Monument
Plovdiv · giant Soviet soldier watching over the city
Anevo Fortress
Sopot · medieval fortress with 12-metre walls
Arapovo Monastery
Asenovgrad · fortress-like monastery with a holy spring and tower
Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis
Plovdiv · giant 4th-century church with exotic-bird mosaics
Buzludzha Monument
Stara Planina · the largest monument of Bulgaria's communist era
Cabyle
Yambol · Thracian city, Roman camp and archaeological reserve
Develtos
Debelt, Burgas · Roman colony turned Byzantine-Bulgarian border
Dryanovo Monastery
Dryanovo · working monastery that fought in the April Uprising
Dzhumaya Mosque
Plovdiv · early Ottoman mosque with a disputed birth date
Markeli
Karnobat · border stronghold of two medieval empires
Nebet Tepe
Plovdiv · prehistoric hill fortress with a secret Roman tunnel
Plovdiv Roman Stadium
Plovdiv · a 30,000-seat Roman stadium under the main street
Seuthopolis
Kazanlak · Thracian royal city flooded by Koprinka reservoir
Shipka Memorial
Shipka · tower with a giant lion, reached by 890 steps
Sokolski Monastery
Gabrovo · Revival convent, eight-tap fountain, rebel history
The Memorial Temple of the Birth of Christ (Shipka)
Shipka · Russian-style memorial church with gilded domes
The Valley of the Thracian Rulers
Kazanlak · over 1,500 Thracian burial mounds in the Rose Valley
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
Kazanlak · UNESCO beehive tomb with Thracian frescoes
Thracian Tomb Ostrusha
Shipka · six-room Thracian tomb-temple with a painted ceiling
Tomb of Seuthes III
Shipka · unrobbed royal Thracian tomb with golden wreath
Troyan Monastery
Oreshak · Zograf frescoes and the Three-Handed Virgin