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Tourist Attractions Around Stara Zagora Region In Stara Zagora..... Neolithic Dwellings During the construction of the large hospital in Stara Zagora in 1969, several Neolithic Houses were excavated. These date back to 5500 BC and two dwellings remain preserved as they were found. The houses have been covered by a building to house the small museum and preserve the findings, such as pottery and household implements. English language tours can be arranged by appointment and the museum is open most days. Roman Ruins There are a number of Roman Ruins around the city but the most impressive are probably the old Roman Theatre next to the court building and the large and well preserved mosaic inside the Post Office on the ground floor. Opera House Close to the City Garden is the newly restored Opera house, rebuilt after fire burnt down the old Opera. The Stara Zagora Opera is the oldest and most prestigious opera company in Bulgaria. Museum Houses There are a couple of museum houses, open by appointment to the public and showing how people lived during the National Revival period. There is the Museum of Nineteenth-Century Town Life very close to the centre and the Geo Milev House-Museum about the poet who was killed for his poem about the 1923 Uprising. Art Gallery The Art Gallery in the centre of the city shows art work by local artists and is open most days of the week. Area around...... Koprinka Lake Koprinka lake is a massive reservoir close to Kazanlak. During the spring and summer, you can see swans, storks, cormorants and wild ducks along the lake shore. There are a number of trails around the lake and in the summer you can go fishing, wind-surfing, water-skiing, hire pedal boats and jet skis or just relax on one of the beaches. There is an ambitious project to try and uncover the ancient city of Seuthopolis, submerged under the lake and build a huge wall around it and a harbor so it will be accessible only by boat. Thracian Tombs (The Valley of the Thracian Kings) The area around Kazanlak has become famous in recent years for the huge number of well preserved Thracian tombs that litter the landscape. These look like giant mole hills, but actually house small stone structures, used to bury and commemorate the dead in ancient times. Whilst the presence of the tombs and the Thracian settlements had been known about for many years, it was not until 1992 that serious excavations began on the tombs. An intact tomb was found near Shipka which was the burial chamber of a mid 4th century BC ruler and many gold and silver artifacts were discovered (now in Kazanlak museum). Another tomb nearby was found to contain the bones of a horse, sacrificed in all its elaborate harnesses and dressings. Another intact tomb was discovered in 1993 near Shipka and this was the largest to date, it comprised 6 chambers and was 100sqm. The main burial chamber was made from a single enormous granite block weighing more than 60 tonnes and in the entrance chamber to the tomb, a horse had been sacrificed and buried along with its distinguished owner. Many more tombs were discovered throughout 1995 and 1996. Many contained gold and silver ornaments (at least those that had not been plundered earlier) and the walls were decorated with rich colours and murials depicting the life of the Thracian rulers. Two temples were discovered, one also being the burial chamber of the great Thracian King Seuthes III, identified by a head of a statue buried at the entrance and several items bear the description 'to Seuthes'. A number of the tombs are open to the public and accessible by either tarmac or dirt track roads, including the Tomb of Seuthes III and also a replica of the Kazanlak tomb, in the park at the top of Kazanlak. The entrance cost is 3 levs per person and guide books are available in English.
The Festival of the Roses Every year, on the first weekend in June, there is a large world renowned street parade in Kazanlak, called the Festival of the Roses. Local schools and clubs take part in the festival, which celebrates the rose oil production the area is famed for and the end of the rose petal picking season. There is folk music and dancing and a festival King and Queen.
Shipka Pass and Monument The Shipka Pass is currently the main route over the Balkans as the pass from Gurkovo to Veliko Turnovo is still closed for road repairs. The Shipka pass is famous for being the stand point of the Bulgarian and Russian troops during the 1878 Liberation War from the Turks. An important battle took place with the 6000 Bulgarians and Russians fighting from the top of the mountain to stop the 27,000 Turkish army conquering the north of Bulgaria, as well as the south. On the third day of the battle, the Bulgarians and Russians ran out of ammunition and had to resort to throwing rocks, tree trunks and eventually dead bodies down the hill at the attacking army. But they managed to hold the pass and when Russian reinforcements arrived, the Bulgarians and Russians moved down the mountain and defeated the rest of the Turkish army. A monument is built right at the top of the winding pass, which houses a military museum. You can drive so far up but then must climb hundreds of steps to reach the top. On a clear day the views from the top across the valley below are amazing and you can see for many miles. Russian Church To commemorate the battle at Shipka and the Russian and Bulgarian dead, a magnificent, gold roofed church was built at the base of the pass in Shipka town. The inside of the church is decorated with wonderful paintings and in the vault under the church, there are photographs and descriptions explaining how the church was built.
Buzludzha From just outside Kazanlak, the road runs around 12km up to the top of Mount Buzludzha. On the top you can see the strange, spaceship shaped monument built to commemorate the death of Hadzhi Dimitar and other rebel fighters, who died there fighting the Turks and also the foundation of the Bulgarian Socialist Party in 1891, following a secret meeting there. The monument is now just a ruin.
However the main attraction of Buzludzha is now the small ski area there. There are two decent length poma drag lifts with runs down of about 500m and a couple of smaller beginner runs. There is one 2 star renovated hotel and then an older hotel and a small basic hostel. Great place to go for a day's skiing and stay in the mountains. Ski hire (reasonable up to date equipment) is 10 levs a day and a lift pass is 12 levs a day. The height of the skiing is only around 1350 metres but usually has snow for at least a couple of months a year.
Stara Zagora Mineral Baths The small mineral spa resort of Stara Zagora is located around 15km to the west of the city in the forested hills. The spa area was first developed by the Romans in the 2nd Century AD and during communist times was a popular place for companies to have rest homes for their workers. A number of these have now been renovated and converted into hotels, including two 3 and 4 star hotels with pool complexes and massage facilities. The area is a great place to relax and enjoy walks in the hills. A few kilometres up from the spa area, a dirt track (just about accessible by car) leads to a pilgrimage site know as the 'Madonna's footprint'. This is a large rock protruding from the earth and it is said that if you squeeze through the crack in the rock and climb out the top, your wish will come true. The area is supposed to be a central point for the earth's magnetism and is a place of worship. A tiny church has been erected by the rock. However, more impressive is the ancient Sarcophagus lying to the right of the rock. Pavel Banya Pavel Banya is a mineral spa resort and tourist destination, famed for its spring waters which are said to have great healing powers for bone diseases. Recently the area has under gone regeneration with new hotels and guest houses being built. There is a large park and an old Sanatorium still in use for medical referrals as well as the original old spa complex with various mineral pools and treatments. New spa centres are under construction and planned for the area. Rose Distillery
In the village of Tarnicheni, about a 50 minute drive from Stara Zagora and 20 minutes from Kazanlak, there is a working rose distillery (and lavender after rose season) which you can visit with prior arrangement. It has been renovated and restored into a beautiful working museum. You can see the old way they used to distil the rose oil (picture on far left above), the still working but older rose distillery (next picture in) and the new more efficient distillery where hundreds of bags of rose petals are brought in and put into the distillation vats. You can purchase rose oil directly from the distillery here. Tours can be organised by prior arrangement and can include a traditional Bulgarian meal and a tour of a wood carver's work shop. Cost around 50 levs per person. The Balkans The Central Balkan National Park has 9 reserves that cover around a third of the National Park and are a haven for wildlife and wild flowers. The Park is one of the few remaining locations in Europe that provides sanctuary to rare and endangered animals, such as the wolf, marten, otter, wild cat, Geoffrey’s bat, barbastelle, Schreiber’s bat, common dormouse, Balkan chamois, imperial eagle, corncrake, and ring ouzel. The Park is the world’s most significant habitat of the semi-collared flycatcher, white-backed woodpecker, Bechstein’s bat, souslik, and mountain molerat. The Central Balkan National Park is home to 59 species of mammals (66% of all mammalian species in Bulgaria); 14 species of reptiles (40% of Bulgarian reptilian species); 123 species of nesting birds (45% of Bulgaria’s ornithological fauna); and 8 amphibian species (half of all Bulgarian amphibian species). Twenty-ones of the vertebrate species within the Park are endangered globally; 80 vertebrate species have been placed under special protection in the Park. [Information from the VisitCentralBalkan Site] There are many mountain chalets offering accommodation and food and hiking trails in the park. For a detailed map click here. Windy Hills Wine Tasting On the road from Nova Zagora to Sliven, there is the Windy Hills vine yards and wine tasting 'chateau', owned by an Italian business man. The place is open nearly every day for wine tasting.
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