Category: Christian Nation Route

North of the Rila Mountains, not far from the Seven Lakes, is the Citadel Museum of Tsari Mali Grad. It is a large complex that has been adapted for tourism, including an ancient church, a rope park, museum rooms, and [...]

Twenty minutes’ drive from Tsari Mali Grad is the city of Samokov, which is the historical capital of the region north of the Rila Mountains. Samokov is not far from the Borovets ski resort, in the center of a fertile [...]

The valley of Kostenets is located on the eastern side of the Rila Mountains, not far from the ski resort of Borovets. In contrast to the valley of Malovitsa on the western side of the resort, this valley is not [...]

In 986, one of the most influential battles in world history took place—the Battle of Trajan’s Gates—in a mountain pass 60 km from Sofia on the road to Plovdiv. The battle was between the forces of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuel [...]

Iskar River is one of the longest rivers in Bulgaria. The river starts in the area of Musala Mountain in the Rila Mountains, and unlike most other rivers in Bulgaria, it flows north—there is no other river in the country [...]

It is the third most important and largest monastery in Bulgaria, and the spiritual center of the regions north of the Balkan Mountains. It replaced, to some extent, the religious centers of Arbanasi and Veliko Tarnovo—which are not far away—and [...]

The largest city in the eastern part of the Rose Valley is Karlovo, with a population of 30,000. Like Kalofer, Karlovo was also established during the Ottoman period and was rebuilt in the 19th century. But unlike nearby Kalofer, its [...]

Kalofer is a town of 3,500 people located near the highest part of the Balkan Mountain Range and Park, in the middle of the Rose Valley. Today it is a sleepy town, but at the end of the 19th century [...]

Not far from Veliko Tarnovo, at the beginning of the road leading to the Šhipka Pass—one of the most important mountain passes in the Balkans—is the Dryanovo Monastery. This beautiful monastery lies on the banks of a river, in one [...]

Veliko Tarnovo is an ancient city located on a naturally fortified hill in one of the bends of the Yantra River, north of the Balkan Mountains. It rose to prominence in the Middle Ages when it served as the capital [...]

The Iskar River is the largest river that joins the Danube in Bulgaria. It is also the only river that crosses the Balkan Mountains; therefore, along it passed the historical road from the areas north of the empire (Romania and [...]

The City of Nikopol is an hour's drive east of Oescus, and is one of the oldest and most important cities along the River. Human settlement in it began already in prehistoric times. In the Roman period, a village existed [...]

If you continue with the Danube to the east, around 50 kilometers, you will reach the city of Svishtov, which is a regional center, an important port, and a crossing point (ferry) on the Danube to Romania. It is the [...]

From Svishtov, it is a little more than an hour's drive to Ruse. It is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria (150,000 people), after Plovdiv, Sofia, Burgas, and Varna, and is an important port on the Danube and a gateway [...]

Rusenski Lom Park is an area of spectacular cliffs along the River Lom, which is a tributary of the Danube, not far from the city of Ruse. The area was a favorite of monks who practiced the Hesychasm tradition during [...]

Silistra is the northeastern most city on the Danube, part of the Dobruja region—an important historical city with about 40,000 people. In the past, there was a Roman city called Dorostrum, from which several monuments remain, especially an impressive Roman [...]

In the middle of the plains north of the mountains is the archaeological site of Pliska, which was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire until the time of Simeon I (late 9th century), who moved the capital to Preslav. [...]

Halfway between Pliska and Preslav is the city of Shumen, where nearly 100,000 residents live. The word "Shumen" means a grove, and indeed the city is in the heart of wooded hills north of the Balkan Mountains. In the heart [...]

Preslav is in a beautiful location at the foot of the Balkan Mountains. The city was chosen to be the capital of Bulgaria at the end of the 9th century by the greatest Bulgarian Tsar, Simeon I, instead of the [...]

The first to build the city of Plovdiv was Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, who conquered ancient Thrace and brought Hellenic culture to the region. He named the city after himself—Philipopolis. During the Roman period, Plovdiv became the [...]

Much has already been written and said about the beauty and uniqueness of the Rhodope Mountains, and about the impressive Thracian and megalithic sites. In addition to them, there are several important sites related to the Christian Bulgaria route, the [...]

The cross on which Jesus was crucified is considered one of the most important holy relics in Christianity—an object believed to produce miracles. Over the years it was lost, but according to Bulgarian tradition, part of it is buried near [...]

Melnik and Rozhen Monastery Melnik is the smallest town in Bulgaria, housing only a few hundred people, but it is one of the most beautiful. It turns out that the title of "town" in Bulgaria is given to places of [...]

In the valley of the Struma River, which connects Thessaloniki with Sofia, runs the main road into the Balkans. Along it are several charming towns and cities, one of the most beautiful among them being the city of Sandanski, famous [...]

Bansko is the most important ski and tourist center in Bulgaria, featuring dozens of hotels, music festivals, and a variety of attractions. Few vacationers know that Bansko was once a center of Bulgarian nationalism and Christianity. In the 18th and [...]