Guide TRAKIA-TOURS - page 2

The town of Kostenets is the centre of a balneological resort region on the Lower Balkan Plain, on the upper area of the Maritsa River.It was created when the Kostenets station and the villages of Momina Banya (Maiden's Baths) and Momin Prohod (Maiden's Pass) were combined (both villages survive as neighbourhoods in the town); all of which have a rather recent history. A village, also by the name of Kostenets, is situated 7 km from the town and has a much longer history. It emerged during the early Middle Ages and existed from the 7th to the 14th century under the name of Konstantsia. Now it i ... more

The town of Kyustendil lies in the middle of the Kyustendil Plain. It is situated on the edge of the Osogovska Mountain, on both banks of the Banshtitsa River. It is situated in the westernmost parts of Bulgaria, just 27 km, as a bird flies, from a point where three borders meet -Bulgaria-Macedonia, Bulgaria-Serbia and Serbia-Macedonia.The settlement was founded during the 5-4th century B.C. by the Thracian tribes of Danteleti and Paeones. During the first century the Romans made it an important fortress, trading centre and a balneological healing resort; it was known, until the end of the 6th ... more

Melnik is the smallest town in Bulgaria, situated among the picturesque Sandstone Cliffs of Melnik - Pliocene lake formations on the southwestern slopes of the Pirin Mountain. Dug into these sand pyramids, which one could describe as natural sculptures with a variety of forms and lines, is a type of wine cellar in which the famous Melnik wine is aged.The settlement was founded by Thracians. During the time of theRomans and Slavs it was a significant cultural and administrative centre. Its name has a Slavic etymology. It was within the boundaries of the Bulgarian state since the 7th century, af ... more

Panagyurishte is situated on a small plain in the Sredna Gora Mountain, on both banks of the Luda Yana River.In the 4th century B.C., there was a Thracian settlement near where the present-day town is situated. During the Middle Ages, this settlement was known as Kamenograd (Litopolis). Panagyurishte was founded after the Ottoman incursions into the Balkans - at the end of the 15th century. It took its name from the small fair, which had set itself up on the bank of the river (panagyur is a synonym of panair, the word for fair, in the dialects of the people of Southwestern Bulgaria). During th ... more

The largest coal-mining region in Bulgaria is situated on the Pernik Plain, between the peaks of Vitosha, Lyulin and Golo Bardo. It is situated on both banks of the Struma River.There was a fortified settlement of a Thracian warrior tribe - Agriani - on this plateau. The palace complex - including a large hall with columns, stone aqueducts, exquisite terracotta vessels and coins from the 5-4th century B.C., discovered here, testifies to their presence. Probably this was the headquarters of the chieftains of the Agriani. The Bulgarians took advantage of the fortified location and built one of t ... more

The second largest city in the vicinity of the Pirin Mountain, Petrich is situated in the far southwest of Bulgaria, where two of its national borders come together - the west and the south. It is 13 km to the border crossing at Kulata (on the Greek border) and 20 km to the border crossing at Zlatarevo (on the Macedonian border). The town is situated at the foot of the Belasitsa Mountain, on both banks of the Petrich River (a.k.a. Luda Mara) - a tributary to the Strumeshnitsa River.Petrich is the successor or the ancient Thracian city of Petra (rock in Greek), which emerged at the foot of the ... more

Pirdop is situated on the southeastern section of the Zlatitsa-Pirdop Plain between the Balkan Mountains and the Sredna Gora.The first information relating to the town is from the 12th century, when the Pirdop Apostle - a valuable liturgical manuscript, preserved in the National Library in Sofia - was written. It was one of the centres of enlightenment during the National Revival. One of the Damaskins (collections of religious teachings) written at the time. Tihonravovia (the quiet-tempered one), is preserved in the State Library in Moscow. A cell school was established and, later, the first p ... more

Razlog is situated on the plain of the same name, surrounded on three sides by the Rila. Pirin and Rhodope mountains. It is nestled between two small hills - Golak, on the north, and Sarovitsa to the south. The Mesta River flows by the town.The first settlers in these parts were the Thracian tribes Satrae and Dii; later came Celts and Slavs, who gave the town its name - separator between two mountains. In 847, during the time of Khan Presian, Razlog was annexed to the Bulgarian state, and in 1382 was captured by the Ottoman Turks. Under the Treaty of Berlin it remained under Ottoman rule even ... more

The town of Samokov is situated at the northern foothills of the Rila Mountain, on the plain of the same name. The Iskar River, the longest Bulgarian river at nearly 168 km. runs through the town on its way to flow into the Danube.Samokov emerged during the 13-14th century on land, which had been inhabited back to prehistoric times. The medieval town was built on the site of a Roman settlement. It became known for the mining and working of iron. During the Ottoman rule, it was under the protection of the Sultans, as quality iron mining was a valuable asset for the Turkish Navy and Army. The bl ... more

The town of Sandanski is situated on the foothills of the Pirin Mountain, on both banks of the Sandanska Bistritsa River, which flows into the Struma just outside the town.A Thracian settlement, whose remains lie beneath the present-day town emerged around the warm mineral springs of the region. The first inhabitants were of the Maedi tribe, whose most famous descendent, it is believed, was the gladiator Sparticus - the leader of the largest uprising (defeated in 74 B.C.) against the Roman Empire. The archeological excavations in the centre of the city testify that the ancient city was built o ... more