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Septemvri And North-Western Thrace
Septemvri is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, located at the western end of the Upper Thracian Lowland. Four Thracian mounds and traces of two ancient cities: GreekPistiros and a Roman town that lies on Trajan's Drum were discovered near the town. It was succeeded by an old Bulgarian settlement, which was destroyed in the late 14th century during the Ottoman invasions. The town was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century under the Turkish name of Sara Khan bey and carried this name until 1949.
The Septemvri-Dobrinishte train in Southeastern Bulgaria is the country’s last surviving narrow gauge (600mm) line. It’s 77.5 miles (125km) long, with 24 stops at small mountain villages. It’s not only the slowest train but also the highest railway in the Balkans. You will be able to enjoy spectacular surroundings on that trip that takes just over five and a half hours to complete.
Velingrad is situated on the Chepinska Plain – the sunniest part of the Rhodope Mountains. The present-day town was founded in 1948 after the unification of the villages of Chepino, Ladzhene and Kamenitsa. The historic strata preserve evidence of the presence of prehistoric, Thracian, Celtic, Roman and Slavic cultures. Beautiful nature and deposits of mineral waters make Velingrad one of the leading “balneological” resorts in the Balkans.
The Tsepina Fortress, for example, is a monument of culture with national significance. It was built on a rocky hill with an elevation of 1136 m, and during the Middle Ages, the fortress was a political and administrative center.
The Yundola resort is situated 16 km from Velingrad. It is an appropriate place for winter, as well as summer tourism. The Lepenitsa cave is also situated 13 km south-west of Velingrad. The cave is 1525 long and it has two-storey galleries, underground river and lakes.
Panagyurishte is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, situated in a small valley in the Sredna Gora mountains. The town region has been populated since antiquity, which is evident by more than 300 monuments found here – necropolises, settlements, fortresses, military camps and road construction installations. The Panagyurishte Golden Treasure is a rare archaeological monument from the Hellenistic Age and one of the symbols of the Panagyurishte region. Dated to the turn of the fourth and third century BC, the find was sensational, not only for its weight in gold — over 6.146 kg of pure gold, but also for the originality of its forms. It is now a world-famous Thracian treasure and one of the most valuable possessions of the National Historical Museum in Sofia.
Koprivshtitsa is a historic town in Sofia Province, one of the centers of the April Uprising in 1876 and is known for its authentic Bulgarian architecture and folk music festivals making it a very popular tourist destination. Koprivshtitsa is one of the charming historic Bulgarian towns, still preserving the atmosphere of the Bulgarian National Revival period of the 19th century. The town boasts 383 architectural monuments from the period, most of them restored to their original appearance. Collections of ethnographic treasures, old weapons, National Revival works of art, fine fretwork, household weaves and embroidery, national costumes and typical Bulgarian jewellery have also been preserved. It was here that the first shot of the April Uprising against the Ottoman Occupation was fired in 1876.
