General Information

Sevlievo is situated in Central Northern Bulgaria or in the Central Balkan Mountains – 178km from Sofia, 28km from Gabrovo and 45km from Veliko Tarnovo. It is situated along highway E77 on the two beaches of the Rositsa River. The town’s population is 27 654 (last counted in 13/09/2005).

The area attracts the tourists with its numerous forests and water basins which are situated close to the town. The Rositsa and Vidima rivers merge in the ‘Aleksandar Stamboliiski’ reservoir which is one of the biggest artificial water basins in Bulgaria.

 

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Sights

Beautiful architectural monuments from the time of the Renaissance and the Medieval are preserved here. One of them is the Hotalich fortress.

You can visit:

• The ´Medieval town and fortress Hotalich´ which is an open air archaeological museum, situated 4km north-west of Sevlievo. It was built in the end of X century on the foundations of an earlier Byzantine settlement. A small church, a Boyar apartment and other dwellings are preserved today;
• The ´Uspenie Presveta Bogoroditsa´ monastery which is situated 16km from Sevlievo, in the center of the Batoshevo village. It is an architectural, historical and art monument of the culture with national significance. It is a medieval monastery, which was renovated in 1836 with a stone church and a sanctuary with icons of Stanislav Dospevski and Zahari Canev. The sanctuary is one of the best creations made by the wood-carving school in Triavna;
• The ´Vavedenie Bogorodichno´ cloister which was built in the 17th century;
• The ´St. Prophet Ilia´ church in Sevlievo. It is situated in the central part of the town and dates from the end of XVII c. The iconostasis is a masterpiece of the wood-carving and icon-painting schools in Triavna and is registered as a cultural monument with national significance;
• The architectural and ethnographic complex ´Dandolovi kashti´ which is situated in the central part of Sevlievo. Three typical houses are situated in one place. There is a workshop on the ground floor. It was built in 1870 in the time of the Bulgarian Renaissance. Today you can see different expositions of the Historical museum from the time of the Renaissance there;
• The Renaissance leather workshop ´Tabahana´ which was built in 1873 and used until 1948. It is the only preserved and renovated big manufacture workshop for leathers products in Bulgaria;
• The ´Hadjistoianovo´ school which was built in 1845 in the center of the town. It is one of the first secular schools in Bulgaria;
• The monument of freedom which was built in 1894 in memory of the perished rebels in 1876 and volunteers in 1877 – 78 in the region;
• The watch tower which was built in 1777 and is one of the four oldest watch towers in the country. The watch mechanism still works;
• The home-museum ´Dan Kolov´. It is situated 7km from Sevlievo. It was once home of the famous wrestler Doncho Kolev Trevnenski /Dan Kolov/. The monument in his memorial is situated nearby;
• The stone bridge over the Rositsa River which is one of the creations made by the self-educated architect Kolio Ficheto who lived during the Renaissance;
• The ´Dr. Atanas Moskov´ house-museum. The famous figure of the international and Bulgarian social-democratic party spent the last 50 years of his life in this hous.;
• The ´Penio Penev´ house-museum in the Dobromirka village. It is the birth house of the poet Penio Penev.

History

The area has been a crossroads for different civilizations for millenniums. More than 100 Thracian funeral mounds are preserved in the plain of Sevlievo. Sevlievo is a town with 10 centuries old history.

The town appears during X c. on a naturally fortified place, 3km north-west from today’s town, with the creation of the Hotalich fortress. This is a defensive fortress with particular infrastructure. Four neighborhoods, two churches, workshops for metal and ceramics were built around it.

The craftsmanship developed in the second half of XVIII c. in Sevlievo (it was center of a Turkish administrative district): leatherworking, blacksmithing, tailoring, carpentry. Vasil Levski created the first revolutionary committee in the beginning of the 70’s of the same century. After his capture and death his followers created a second committee which prepared the April rebellion in the area of Sevlievo. The grateful heirs built a majestic monument in their memory in 1984.

 

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Entertainment

You can enjoy:

• The eco path ´Vitata stena´ which shows the natural variety in the area and assures the tourists´ emotional experiences. It goes through the ´Baagdalata´ area which is a natural preserve with lime forest, the ´Momina salza´ area which has a panorama view from the coast of the Rositsa river and the slopes of the Botev peak and reaches to the ´Vran´ area. The echo path also has a second stage which leads to the natural phenomenon ´Vitata stena´;
• The ´Baagdalata´ park. It is situated on 10km from Sevlievo, on the way to Gabrovo and has wonderful conditions for an active holiday.
• The ´Alexander Stamboliiski´ reservoir. It is 18km long and is situated 6km from the town. The reservoir offers wonderful conditions for rest, yachting, rowing and water sports, fishing, beach, rest bases, bars, villas;
• The ´Lagat´ area which is situated at the foot of the mountain and is on 32km from the town. It is famous with the gamebreeding station ´Rositsa´ and the flocks of wild boars, roes and the magnificent royal slags. ´Lagat´ is the exit point to the mountain and the ´Mazalat´ and ´Botev´ peaks;
• The ´Central Balkan´ national park. The unique nature of the Balkan Mountains – centuries-old beech, fir-tree and white fir forests cohabit with plants which you can´t see at any other place. Two of them are the alpine rose and the edelweiss. The park and eight of its preserves are included in the list of the representative protected territories of UN which is an acknowledgement for their high significance.

The arts enthusiasts can enjoy:

• The Home of the culture ´Mara Belcheva´ which is the center of the cultural life in Sevlievo and a place for meetings with arts and known creators with professional as well as amateur careers;
• The library which is one of the oldest in Bulgaria;
• The ´Vidima´ and ´Akta´ galleries.

You can also enjoy:

• The quiet and tranquil nights in the bars of the four-star quality hotel complex ´Sevlievo Plaza´, the three-star quality family hotel ´Odesa´ and motel ´Rositsa´;
• The taste of the variety in the restaurants, inns and the fast-food bars; tasting the ´gamza´ /the best wine in Bulgaria/ and a rich variety of local traditional appetizers.

There are organized trips to ´Etara´, Bojenci, Triavna and the ´Drianovski´, ´Troianski´ and ´Sokolski´ monasteries.

 

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Sports

• The fishing enthusiasts can find pleasant rest and many emotions here. The Rositsa and Vidima rivers have plenty of fish;
• Pedestrian tourism – great conditions for tourist passages to peaks and areas in the Balkan;
• Sports tourism – ´Alexander Stamboliiski´ reservoir. It is situated on 12km from Sevlievo and offers sports fishing and water sports;
• Mountain sports can be practiced in the area of the ´Mazalt´ hut; Alpine and hunting tourism and hunting reserve in the ´Lagat´ area; village and ecotourism in the neighborhoods ´Star Kravenik´, ´Tabashkoto´ and ´Delak´. The ´Peeshti skali´(Singing rocks) preserve is a part of the National park ´Central Balkan´ and is on the territory of the town.
• The ´Rally-cross´ track is situated in the northern part of the town, close to the Rositsa River. National and traditional rallies are held here.
• Stadiums:
• ´Vidima-Rakovski´ is a fully renovated stadium which offers all the modern conditions. It has 5000 seats, two training grounds, fitness and recreation halls, conference halls;
• The ´Rakovski´ stadium is host of matches from the professional football league and the mini-golf playground with artificial grass offers ability for amateur football during your free time;
• The ´Chernichkite´ sports complex is situated in a park. It has three playgrounds;
• A stadium with artificial grass is situated in the ´Borova gora´(Pine forest) park and has a size of 18 – 36m.
• Tennis courts which have well-equipped material base.
• The pools in Sevlievo are devided in several groups: open air, covered, pools for entertainment and sports.
• The ´Dan Kolov´ sports hall which has 700 seats. It hosts contests with national and international significance as well as wrestling, basketball, volleyball, badminton, sambo, judo, kyokoshinkay and weight lifting trainings
• ´The climbing wall´ is a covered sports facility;
• The ´Lagat´ and ´Lovnidol´ bases offer:
• Horseback riding with elite race horses and horseback riding school;
• Hunting reserve – trophy hunting, photo-hunting, etc.
• Moto-range ´Gorna Rositsa´ which is situated 7km from Sevlievo. It has a range with 100% visibility, 10 000 seats and VIP tribune for 250 guests. There is a conference center with a hotel and a restaurant, fast-food bars, conference halls, which hosts the Republican Championship, European championship for youths in 125cc category; World motocross championship GRAND PRIX.
• Cycle-association. A hundred years have passed since the creation of the one of the oldest cycling associations in Bulgaria in May 2007;
• The ´Bogatovskia´ reservoir is a proper place for the water sports and sports fishing enthusiasts;
• Sports clubs for motoring, acrobatics, badminton, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, judo and sambo, karate kyokushinkay, track-and-field athletics, motor cycling, tennis, chess.