Of Potential and opportunities for Senior Tourism development in districts of and Montana

The Study was conducted by BANDEK Ltd within the project "Friendly Destinations for People Over 55", project code: ROBG-436, funded by the INTERREG V-A - Program

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Content:

I. Collected, classified and summarized tourist information useful for the elderly in both Vidin and Montana districts, by means of: - Data collection methods along with evaluation criteria for all available tourist sites in both target regions; - Questionnaires designed for collection of data related to tourism including accommodation, bar and restaurants, historical and natural sites avaiable in both regions, giving each site a degree of accessibility for elderly people.

Collection of data for the research includes following topics: • Brief historical overview of both regions; • Information on all major cultural and nature sites in both Vidin and Montana districts classified in the following categories: 1. Culture (archeological sites, museums, monuments) 2. Religion (churches and monasteries); 3. Nature (parks, rivers, lakes, flora and fauna, caves) 4. Rural tourism (rural, wine and culinary) 5. Event tourism (festival, alternative sport events) 6. Spa and wellness.

• Collection of data about accommodation, beverage and food services offered: 1. Hotels 2. Drinking establishments (bar, pub, café, etc.) 3. Restaurants

In the process of collecting information for the two districts, the review of real capability of each site regarding the accessibility for the elderly people, was based on the following categories: wheelchair accessibility; accessibility to elderly in good shape; accessibility to elderly moving with the help of crutches; easy accessibility for all. Pictograms were developed based on these criteria. The information is provided for all available services, Languages spoken, information on medical services and emergency assistance, as well as luggage assistance.

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INTRODUCTION

The present study was conducted by Bandek Ltd within the project “Friendly Destinations for People Over 55”, project code: ROBG-436, funded by the Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Program. The oveall objective of the project is to create an innovative tourism product, adapting tourist offers in regard to cultural and historical heritage, folklore and traditions, natural resources and others for the needs of people over 55 years of age. Generally, people in retirement age have both more free time and a desire to travel. It turns out to be important developing specific tourism products for this target segment. This study is expected to serve as a foudation for developing strategies and guidelines for development of Tourism 55+.

According to studies already carried out by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and reported within its UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, it is confirmed that the elderly population group has needs and expectations that vary with age, health, social and known constraints (eg. care obligations) and economic status. Nevertheless, some common patterns and preferences stand out, especially with regard to the 55-75 age range, for example: • Older people would prefer to travel with a partner, with relatives or family members, and in groups with known people; • Senior European tourists prefer to travel with a budget of up to € 100 per day for periods of 4 to 7 nights, as well as extend their travel time to 13 nights where possible; • Aging increases people's desire to be independent in planning and managing their trips, choosing all-inclusive packages less often, preferring to organize their vacations themselves; • Preferred tourism topics are nature and culture, whose accessibility and security are considered very important; • Also, seniors prefer summer and spring as travel seasons.

According to AGE Platform Europe (European network for people aged 50+), the following features should be noted for older tourists over 55: • Special attention to security, accessibility and internet access. There needs to be much more information on accessibility opportunities for the benefit of all generations, and especially those suffering from temporary or permanent disability. • Special attention is paid to health concerns, older tourists are paying attention to health threats and need more information than simply listing working pharmacy stores and having doctors available. Food safety cannot be ignored and tourists need to be more widely informed about this.

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• Insurance costs must also be taken into account. Age restrictions on travel insurance within the EU in some countries and car rental restrictions are barriers that prevent older EU citizens from enjoying their freedom of movement within the EU. Actions are needed to deal with this kind of problems, especially in the light of developing new and tailored tourist packages. • According to the study, 38% of senior tourists travel with their partner, 28% of them travel with relatives and family members and about 20% travel in groups.

The purpose of this study is to provide comprehensive information on cultural, historical and natural sites, rural and event tourism, spa and wellness, as well as accommodation and dining options in terms of accessibility, Languages spoken, luggage assistance.

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DATA COLLECTION METHODS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR ALL AVAILABLE TOURIST SITES IN BOTH TARGET REGIONS

Gethering information is performed through applying two basic methods: desk research and research through questionnaires, including fieldwork. As a set of desk research activitis, information from the questionnaires was checked, organized and entered in table form presenting information on tourist sites, lodging and dining places from existing sources, such as publications, printed materials and publications, official web sites, statistical information from local authorities and district governments, National Statistical Institute. During the questionnaire research, the owners or representatives of the tourist sites, as well as the places for accommodation, food and beverage, being a subject of the present survey, were asked to fill out the questionnaire, specifically deveoped for data collection. The survey may be conducted electronically, by e-mail, phone or an on-site interview with representatives of the site. For the purposes of this study, working methods are combined for each site in order to provide fully up-to-date and validated information for the benefit of tourists over 55.

QUESTIONNAIRES DESIGNED FOR COLLECTION OF DATA RELATED TO TOURISM INCLUDING ACCOMMODATION, BAR AND RESTAURANTS, HISTORICAL AND NATURE SITES AVAIABLE IN BOTH REGIONS, GIVING EACH SITE A DEGREE OF ACCESSIBILITY FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE

For the purposes of this study, a questionnaire was developed and disseminated to interested parties and the needed information was collected. The icons for determining the degree of accessibility for the elderly are specially selected, which give information whether the site is:

• Wheelchair inaccessible; • Accessible to elderly in good shape only; • Accessible to elderly moving with the help of crutches; • Easily accessible to all.

For the purpose of avoiding accumulation of repeated information, only the above mentioned icons are placed.

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QUESTIONNAIRE Potential and opportunities for Senior Tourism development in districts of Vidin and Montana

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

This study was elaborated by BANDEK Ltd in course of implementation of service contract ROBG-436-5/14.05.2019 under the project "Friendly destinations for people over 55", project code: ROBG-436, funded by the Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Program

The questions in the current inquiry will serve for creation a basis for the analysis and evaluation of information needed for development of tourism focused on people over 55 as a group with special needs.

1. Name of the site:

2. Type of the site:

Accommodation Bar

Historical or nature site

3. Contact information Location: ______Contact Person: ______Phone : ______Email: ______Website: ______

4. Description of the site. Short information (max 1/2 page or 900 characters)

5. Level of accessibility to elderly:

 Wheelchair inaccessible;

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 Accessible to elderly in good shape only;

 Accessible to elderly moving with the help of crutches;

 Easily accessibile for all

6. Languages spoken by the staff:  English  Romanian  German  Russian  Other, please specify: ______

7. Is luggage assistance available?  Yes  No

Thank you for your time!

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VIDIN REGION BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

There are scientifically gounded assumptions about the presence of people on the territory of Vidin region 1.4 million years ago. The first traces of people in Europe were found right here in the Cave near . Although Kozarnika Cave is not suitable for tourists to visit, another one - , has much to say about the ancient people who painted one of its galleries walls with guano over 10,000 years ago. During antiquity, the territory of Vidin was crossed by numerous peoples and tribes, among whom Thracians, tribals, Celts, some of whom settled in Vidin and of course the Romans during the third century. Shortly before the beginning of the new era, the territory of Vidin was conquered by Rome and became part of the province of Moesia. The Romans created many of their fortifications and garrisons, the main center being the city of near the present village of Archar. Above Belogradchik they build a fortress whose main purpose is to protect Roman roads. After the collapse of the Roman Empire at the end of the 4th century, many barbarian tribes were already attacking the Eastern Roman Empire and in an attempt to defend Emperor Justinian I built the Castra Martis military stronghold in Kula. In the 7th century Vidin was under the influence of the Avar Haganate, after which it became part of the First Bulgarian State. In the 10th century the Baba Vida Fortress was strengthened, new towers were built using material from Ratiaria, but after a long siege it was conquered by Emperor Basil II. In the 13th century Vidin became the center of the Vidin despotism, a vassal of the Turnovo. It is ruled by Despot Shishman and his successors, Michail Shishman and Belaur. After the ensuing tensions between the divided Bulgarian rulers during the time of Ivan Sratsimir, the Vidin kingdom was conquered by the Hungarian Empire and Ivan Sratsimir was captured. The Hungarian period of Vidin's rule is four years long, as evidenced by one of the towers in the Baba Vida fortress. In 1388 Ivan Sratsimir was recognized as a vassal of the , and finally in 1396 Sultan Bayazid conquered Vidin. During the Ottoman rule, Vidin was one of the most important cities in the empire, and in 1801 - 1802 the mosque of Osman Pazvantoglu was built. This mosque is the only Muslim temple in the whole world, whose minaret is decorated with a converted stylized heart, and not with the symbol of Islam, a crescent.

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The Kingdom of Vidin

Vidin Kingdom

Veliko Tarnovo Kingdom

Despotate of Dobruja (form of government in Dobruja)

MONTANA DISTRICT BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

The area around Montana shortly before the beginning of the new era was conquered by the Roman Empire and attributed to the province of Upper Moesia. The Romans gave the name of the town Montanenzium and built a fortress on a small hill next to it, which was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt until the end of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Montanenzium became the second largest city after Ratiaria in the Roman province. An important Roman fort was also located along the coast - the fortress Almus, present-day Lom. In the Middle Ages the barbarian tribes of the Huns and Goths devastated the lands of Montana, and the settled Slavs after 560 gave their name to the village of Kutlovitsa, which is on the rise during the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms. After Kutlovica was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, the settlement was torn down and abandoned, but was later occupied mainly by Turks for strategic military reasons. After the liberation began a large migration wave of Bulgarian population to Kutlovica from the Belimel and Mitrovtsi regions, and then from , , and even Macedonia. In 1891 the village was renamed Ferdinand in honor of Prince Ferdinand I and thus gained its status of a city.

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In 1945 the “Fatherland Front” (ОФ - Bulgarian political resistance movement during World War II) once again changes the name of the city of Michailovgrad in honor of communist activist Hristo Michailov and it has become an attractive force for people from smaller settlements in the region since the beginning of the communist period and is experiencing an economic boom. And that's not all. In 1993, with the decree of President Zhelev, the name of the city was changed to Montana, which is very similar to the ancient name Monatanenzium.

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CULTURAL AND NATURAL SITES IN THE VIDIN REGION 1. Culture (archeological sites, museums, monuments) 2. Religion (churches and monasteries) 3. Nature (parks, rivers, lakes, flora and fauna, caves) 4. Rural tourism (including rural, wine and culinary) 5. Event tourism (festivals, sport events) 6. Spa and wellness.

TOURIST SITES IN THE DISTRICT OF VIDIN

Tourist site Baba Vida Fortress Description

Category culture- historical GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): 43.993493, 22.886447 Baba Vida is the only fully preserved medieval fortress in Bulgaria. It rises majestically on the banks of the Danube, in the Vidin City Park. It was built on the remains of the ancient Bononia fortress, built at the beginning of the New Era. Its history is more than 2000 years, passing through various construction periods: ancient - I - IV c., Bulgarian - X - XIV c., Ottoman - XV - XIX c. Restoration activity is from the twentieth century. The main plan of the castle has not undergone major changes. Contacts : The fortress extends over an area of 9.5 acres, surrounded by a protective moat 12 m wide and 6 m deep. the inner one is Location 3700 Vidin, high, 2.2 m thick and with 9 towers - 4 angular and 5 lateral, Danube Park while the outer one is lower, connected by 2 towers. The Phone +359 94 601 705 walls are freely arranged with bricks and broken stone, museumvd@mail soldered with mortar. Much of the construction is also Email .bg decorative - there are still preserved brick belts and blind arched niches. Website http://museum- The fortress is accessible only from the north, where the vidin.domino.bg entrance tower is located. In the past, it was crossed by a wooden drawbridge, which is now a stone. After the entrance Accessibility tower goes into the first courtyard. A round stone staircase Languages spoken leads to the courtyard. In the Middle Ages, this courtyard was BG, EN wider and had a church and a building.

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Tourist site Cross Barracks Museum Description culture- The Cross Barracks Museum has been declared a cultural Category historical monument of local importance. The museum presents an ethnographic exposition presenting the traditional culture of GPS coordinates (Decimal the population of the Vidin region from the end of the 19th to degrees): the 20s of the 20th century. 43.990575, 22.881737 The Cross Barracks was built in 1801 for the needs of the Janissary Corps by Osman Pazvantooglu. After the Liberation it was used as a court and barracks of the Bulgarian army. The building is two storey, in the form of a cross with a built- up area of over 1200m2. The internal distribution and connecting stairs have been modified several times in accordance with the requirements of the respective services. The walls are solid, made of stone and bricks.

Contacts : There are four almost independent courtyards. The entrances to the building are located in the corners of its real part 3700 Vidin, 26 Knyaz Boris I Location street,Kaleto neighberhood Phone +359 94 601 709 museumvd@mail Email .bg

Website http://museum- vidin.domino.bg Accessibilit y Languages spoken BG, EN

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Tourist site Konaka Museum Description culture- Category historical GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): 43.988971, 22.874704

The building is an original architectural monument of culture of local importance. It was built in the 18th century and was Contacts : used by the Turks for police control. Due to its good visibility, 3700 Vidin, 2 the central tower shaped part served as a fire watch. Location Obshtinska street After the Liberation it was reconstructed and elements of Phone +359 94 601 713 Bulgarian Revival architecture were inserted into it. Since museumvd@mail 1956 it has become a museum. The exposition traces the Email .bg history of the Vidin region from the most ancient times to the Liberation. Website http://museum- vidin.domino.bg The museum can see prehistoric exhibits, including drawings Accessibilit from the Magura Cave, numerous objects and vessels; various y objects, vases and statuettes from the ancient period found in Languages Ratiaria, Bononia and Castro Martis; coins and ceramics from BG, EN spoken the Middle Ages.

Tourist site Ancient city of Ratiaria Description culture- The ancient city of Ratiaria is the most significant Roman and Category historical Late Antique center in present-day Northwestern Bulgaria. Its remains are located on the territory of the village of Archar, GPS coordinates (Decimal 30 km from Vidin, on the bank of the Danube. The name degrees): Ratiaria is derived from the name of the type of ships / ratis / 43.817669, 22.908223 used during antiquity. After the territorial reform in 86 AD. the city falls in the Roman province of Upper Moesia. As a result of the Dacian wars since the beginning of the second century and the displacement of the Roman Empire boundary north of the Danube, Emperor Traian raised Ratiaria as a colony. This status entitles him to autonomy and his inhabitants become fully Roman citizens. In the II-III century

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the city experienced its flourishing, organized in Italian fashion. At that time it became a large craft and trade center. This is evidenced by the cultural and historical values found in his archaeological study.

There are reports that as early as the 2nd century there were ateliers for architectural decoration, sculpture, tombstones Contacts : and jewelry. Of utmost importance for the history of the city 3700 Vidin, 2 is the open inscription with the text: "Anastasia's Ratiaria to Location Obshtinska flourish forever". It was probably after the Huns invasion in street the 5th century that Emperor Anastasius I / 491-518 / gave his Phone +359 94 601 713 support in rebuilding the city. Ratiaria was last mentioned by museumvd@mail Email the chronicler Theophylact Simokata in connection with the .bg seizure and the accidents in 586. This event marks the end of several centuries-old development of the Danubian Roman http://museum- Website city. vidin.domino.bg The condition of the site is very poor. Findings can be seen in

the History Museum - Vidin. Accessibility Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Old Turkish post Description Turkish post office was built in the second half of the 19th Category culture-historical century especially for postal needs. It was probably completed in 1859, when Vidin was connected by telegraph to GPS coordinates (Decimal various European cities. It is a massive two-storey building degrees): with a vault in its basement. This is the only preserved old 43.988455, 22.881836 post office in Bulgaria. It is located in the Krydunavsky Park next to the mosque and the library of Osman Pazvantoglu and Telegraph Kapia. The building is built of lime-sand mortar and covered with Turkish tiles. There is an open vestibule and a wooden staircase in the hallway leads to the second floor. The mail is the work of master builders from Debar. After 1878. the post office building was used for the needs of the Men's High School and later housed an archaeological site. There is evidence that in 1773 a road stage and post station

Contacts : was operating in Vidin. It employs carriages, armchairs, grooms, servants until in 1859 the Turkish Post in Vidin was Location 3700 Vidin, 6 Baba not built. There were two types of mail a week: one main Vida street (Tatar) for the big cities and a secondary one (small) for the Phone +359 94 601 704 small towns. International correspondence was carried by ship through . The mail was telegraphically connected to Email [email protected]

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Ruse, Sulina and Belogradchik in the sandbox. During the Website Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Smurdin redoubts had a www.libvidin.eu telegraph connection to the city. Recently, the Turkish Post building has been constantly Accessibility changing its purpose, the last being Languages BG providing it to the Mihalaki Georgiev Regional Library as a spoken cultural center

Tourist site Fortress system "Kaleto" Description culture- The construction of the Kaleto fortress system of the old Vidin Category historical began in 1690 and ended in 1720. At that time the construction was necessary because of the economic importance of the city GPS coordinates (Decimal and the frequent Austro-Ottoman wars. degrees): The facility is nearly 2 km in diameter and includes the Baba 43.986670, 22.878137 Vida Fortress. In its original form, a moat about 5-6 m deep and about 18 m wide was dug in front of the walls, which was filled with water from the Danube. Now, much of the western part of it is covered up and turned into a city park. Part of the moat can still be seen in the northern part of the fort wall. The wall of old Vidin is also partially preserved, most notably that of the Danube River in the Krydunavsky Park. It was single on land and double on the river, with the outer wall lower than the inner wall. The city was entered through several gates (gates). Four of them are built to land - from north to south: Florentine (Carl Granny) Point (partially preserved), Enichar (Garbage) Point, Market (London) Gate and Stamboli Point (the main entrance gate leading to Istanbul). Five gates were built to the river - from north to south: Aralak gates (partially preserved), Top gates, Barn gates, Telegraph gates and Surgyun gates that no longer exist. The whole fortress system is an engineering achievement in its time. After its construction, the city was never conquered with brute force. Even when Russian troops besiege the town of Vidin, they do not conquer it, and the Turkish garrison betrays it. The Kaleto fortress system has persisted during the Serbo- Bulgarian War of 1885, when more than 11,000 people trained Contacts : in the Serbian army failed to surpass 6,000 Bulgarian defenders. At that time the fortress had two fences - internal 3700 Vidin, 8 Location and external. To the east is the Danube River and its bank, on Bdin street which there is only a double stone wall within the boundary of Phone +359 94 601 704 the inner fence. After the expansion of the town of Vidin turizam_vd@abv outside the fortress, the old Kaleto neighborhood remains in its Email .bg

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outline. Website The Kaleto fortress system is a cultural monument of national www.vidin.bg importance and one of the National sites of Bulgaria.

Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Fortress Castra Martis Description culture- The Castra Martis Fortress is located in the present-day town Category historical of Kula. It was part of the Roman province of Dacia and the border of the Roman Empire along the Danube, called limes, GPS coordinates (Decimal consisting of military camps, settlements, observation towers degrees): and other facilities. The fortress was built in the beginning of 43.890667, 22.524054 the IV century under the time of Emperor Justinian I, on the steep slope above the river Voinishka, where today is the center of the town of Kula. Castra Martis played a very important role in the defense of these lands.

The fortress consisted of two parts - a quadriburgy and a castle. The quadriburg was originally erected - towards the end of the III - the beginning of the IV century. It was a square fortification measuring 40 by 40 m of the fortress.

Contacts : The castle occupied an area of 15.5 acres and had the shape 3800 Kula, of an irregular quadrangle defended by 7 polygonal towers. In Vazrazhdane, Location the middle of the central building of the fort was an inner Fortress Castra courtyard with a well covered with large square bricks. There Martis were two-storey premises around the yard. Phone +359 938 3 2020 obshtinakula@ab Archaeological excavations show that before the construction Email v.bg of the fortress there was a small Thracian-Roman settlement. www.obshtina- Website kula.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Kaleto Fortress, Belogradchik Description culture- The Belogradchik fortress is historically the largest cultural Category historical landmark of the town of Belogradchik. The main tourist flow

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GPS coordinates (Decimal of the area is directed to the Belogradchik Kale and to the degrees): . Belogradchik Fortress is one of the most 43.623325, 22.677218 preserved fortresses in Bulgaria and has been declared a cultural monument of national importance.

The fortress was built at a time when these territories were within the Roman Empire. In the construction of the former Roman fortress, the extremely natural rock forms used here are used. In fact, the fortress walls were built only from the northwest and southeast. On the other side, the castle yard is enclosed by natural rock formations over 70 meters high.

Initially, the Belogradchik Kale had predominantly observational functions rather than strictly defensive ones. In the 14th century, Tsar Ivan Sratsimir expanded the old fortification by building fortress garrisons in front of the existing barrier rock masses. During his rule the fortress became one of the major fortifications in the region, second only to the Vidin fortress, which served as a castle for Contacts : Sratzimir himself. 3900 Belogradchik Location During the conquest of Bulgaria by the Ottoman Empire, the 35 Tsolo Todorov Belogradchik fortress was conquered in 1396. During the street Ottoman rule, the Turks expanded the fortress because of Phone +359 9314 9168 increased and revolutionary activity in the area. Real tourism@belogra changes in the structure of the fort were made in the early Email dchik.bg 19th century.

http://belograd Website In the extensions of this period, the Ottoman style is chik.bg characteristic. Almost complete remodeling and additional Accessibilit extensions are underway. y The role of the Belogradchik Kale in suppressing the Belogradchik Uprising of 1850 is important. The fortress was last used in hostilities during the Serbian-Bulgarian War of Languages 1885. BG, EN spoken The walls of the kale are more than 2 meters thick at the base and up to 12 meters high. There are 3 fortresses separated from each other, which are connected by means of fortress gates. The entire fortress has a total area of 10 acres.

Museum of Nature and Science, Tourist site Belogradchik Description culture- Category historical

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GPS coordinates (Decimal The only natural history museum in the Northwest is located degrees): in Belogradchik. The museum has been moved from 2018 to a 43.624096, 22.677055 new building next to Kaleto Fortress.

It has a total fund of 3000 exhibits. The exposition features many endemic and relict species from the Balkans and Europe. The repository holds the skulls of a cave bear and a hyena that inhabited the Magura Cave thousands of years ago.

In the halls of the museum are exhibited stuffed animals, birds eggs, herbarium plants, many photographs. Some of the birds are rare and protected species that can only be seen in Contacts : the museum. Among them are the rock eagle, the blue 3900 gargoyle, the griffon vulture, the owl, the black stork, the Belogradchik falcon orc, the forest dream, the otter, the goldfish. There is Location 35 Tsolo Todorov also a brown bear that inhabited the area a century ago, the street tortoise. Phone +359 9314 9168 tourism@belogra Email dchik.bg http://belograd Website chik.bg Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Historical Museum, Tourist site Belogradchik Description culture- Category historical The Belogradchik Historical Museum is housed in the cultural GPS coordinates (Decimal monument “Panov House”, built in 1810. It is a striking degrees): representative of pre-Balkan Revival architecture. It is a two- 43.624958, 22.681529

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storey, two-storey porch, with a stone built first floor and a second-story bay. This architectural jewel of Belogradchik has hidden in itself the way of life and folk culture, the pursuit of beauty and the thirst for Bulgarians for freedom during the epoch of the Bulgarian Revival. The exposition introduces us to the socio- economic development of Belogradchik and the region in the 18th-19th centuries. The exhibits (wooden plow, bushes, deacons, threshing rollers), as well as two charts by Austro- Hungarian traveler Felix Kanitz give us an idea of how the land was harvested and the grain harvested. The emphasis is placed on animal husbandry as a major livelihood for the area, as well as on the cultivation of vineyards, cotton and other crops. The most sacred place in the Panova house - the hearth - with its iron and clay attributes, influences us with the attractive force of the fire and the sacredness of the Bulgarian table. In Contacts : the 18th-19th century, skilled craftsmen worked in 3900 Belogradchik. They made both silver and gilded cult objects / Belogradchik Location crosses, ornaments of icons, gospel fittings /, as well as 1 Tsolo Todorov various household objects and ornaments. street The Goldsmiths Hall exhibits women's jewelry from the second Phone +359 93 653 469 half of the 18th century. The exposition also offers a wealth muzeibelogradch of material and documentary material reflecting our people's Email [email protected] struggles against Ottoman rule in the first half of the 19th century. Six Belogradchik villages were built in 1806. It smells muzeibelogradch Website of gunpowder and in 1821, 1833, during the Manch revolt of ik.com 1836. and Puy's Riot of 1849. The readings of Haidut Velko, of Accessibilit Stoyan Voivoda, of Valchan Voivod and of Haidutin Balcho are y also alarming. The gentleman's house kept and mentioned the epic called "1850s Summer". The priceless relics / staff of a rebel, Petko Kovacs' sword / of this glorious and heroic, Languages breathtaking free time, an array of documents and graphics BG, EN spoken clarify the character, significance and resonance of the then European world of the 1850 Uprising. in northwestern Bulgaria with the center of Belogradchik.

Tourist site Cathedral "St. Demetrius" Description

Category Religion The church of St. Demetrius in Vidin is the second largest in Bulgaria, after the temple-monument St. Alexander Nevski in GPS coordinates (Decimal Sofia. It was built at the end of the seventeenth century and degrees): has always been the center of cultural life of Bulgarians in the 43.987082, 22.874007

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region.

The original structure was made of wood, and over time the temple had to be demolished and rebuilt. Construction began in 1885 and the complete completion, painting and solemn illumination of the temple was in 1926. The project is of Gencho Kanev and the temple was a one-bell tower similar to the Varna Cathedral, which he built between 1884 and 1886, but architect Bahnani partially transformed it into a two-bell Contacts : tower. 3700 Vidin Location 2 Ekzarh Yosif I The present building has a cross-plan plan with three street longitudinal and one transverse vessel. Its central dome is 33 Phone +359 94 600 802 meters high and has four free-standing supports. Email The Church of St. Dimitar in Vidin is declared a cultural https:/ /bg- Website monument of national importance. patriarshia.bg Accessibilit y Languages BG spoken

St. Petka and St. Pantaleimon Tourist site Churches Description

Category Religion St. Petka is a church in Vidin, opposite the Museum of the Cross Barracks in the old fortified part of the town of Kaleto. GPS coordinates (Decimal A cultural monument of local importance. degrees): The church building is one-nave, half-dug in the ground, with 43.987082, 22.874007 a semi-cylindrical vault placed under a two-story roof. Its 43.987097, 22.874010 walls are of stone masonry, under the roof pass a serrated cornice of stone and 4 rows of bricks.

It originated in the early 17th century, shortly after the Sultan lifted the ban on building churches.

The church is painted. On the upper parts of the walls are belts and medallions with images of saints and evangelistic scenes are painted on the arch. In the center of the nave

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there are 2 medallions depicting Christ and the Virgin.

Years before the Liberation had been turned into a coal depot, because under Ottoman border law, if Bulgarian temples were close to military sites, they could be used for their needs. Sveta Petka is next to the Cross Barracks - the Janissary Barracks. Contacts : 3700 Vidin The other old church in Vidin - St. Pantaleimon, also half- Knyaz Boris I buried in the ground and a cultural monument of national Location street importance. It is located in the courtyard of the Vidin 11 Baba Vida Metropolis and has been renovated in recent years. According street to the inscription above the entrance door was built in 1634 Phone +359 94 601 880 on the foundations of an old church. And it is single-nailed, Email dug into the ground, but smaller than St. Petka, with a semi- cylindrical vault beneath the gable roof. Under the roof there https://bg - Website is a serrated cornice of stone and 4 rows of bricks. It was patriarshia.bg painted in 1646 during the time of Metropolitan Sofronius of Accessibilit Vidin. The saints are depicted in belts and medallions, and y there are evangelistic scenes in the vault. In the period 1800 - Languages 1802 Sophronius Vrachanski served there, who at that time BG spoken was forcibly accommodated in Vidin.

Osman Pazvantoglu Mosque Tourist site and Library Description Vidin is one of the few cities that boasts the peaceful Category Religion cohabitation of three different religions, with churches, synagogues and mosques within a few hundred meters. GPS coordinates (Decimal The Osman Pazvantoglu Mosque is the only mosque in the degrees): world with a heart (or peak) in the dome instead of a 43.988031, 22.881061 crescent. It is located in Vidin and is a cultural monument of national importance. The temple was built in 1801-1802 by the Vidin ruler Osman Pazvantoglu. It was part of a large complex of mosque, madrasah (spiritual school) and library. The school was destroyed a long time ago, only the mosque and library were preserved. There are many legends and assumptions about the stylized heart at the top of the minaret - the most romantic one is about the love between

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Pazvantoglu and a Bulgarian who failed to make it official because of religious differences. There are theories about the Bulgarian origin of the ruler (from the paternal grandmother or through the relatives of the mother), which was no exception in those times. Quite often, the Muslim subjects of the empire married Christian women who adopted Islam, while the wealthier took Bulgarians as their second or third wife in the harem. Probably the explanation for the minaret decoration is more prosaic - Pazvantoglu treated the people of different religions equally throughout much of his dominion over Vidin. The absence of a crescent was a sign for the population that the ruler considered everyone equal.

Pazvantoglu himself is one of the most interesting rulers of Vidin, who left the area beyond the control of the High Gate for a long time. Somewhat inspired by Napoleon's successes, Contacts : trying to create a republic without the restriction of old 3700 Vidin borders and religions, Pazvantoglu corresponds with French Location 9 Baba Vida diplomats and politicians and sends Christian envoys. street Something unthinkable until then about the Ottoman Empire, Phone in which the adoption of Islam was a precondition for a career turizam_vd@ab in government. The ruler's mosque also has French influence Email v.bg and baroque elements - further emphasizing its great importance as a cultural monument. Website www.vidin.bg Pazawanoglu's library is dedicated to his mother and has kept old Ottoman manuscripts. Most of them were transferred to Accessibilit the Oriental Department of the National Library in Sofia. y Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Jewish synagogue Description

Category Religion The Vidin Synagogue was built in 1894 on the site of a previous temple destroyed during the Russo-Turkish War of GPS coordinates (Decimal Liberation. The construction was mainly done with donations degrees): from the local Jewish community. The Vidin Synagogue is the 43.991252, 22.884041

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second largest after the temple in Sofia.

The temple is located near the Baba Vida Fortress. It was built in the likeness of the synagogue in . The painted blue, red and bronze altar is the work of the Czech sculptor Max Verich, who at the time worked and taught in Vidin. The timber was sourced from Romania and and most of the furniture was ordered from Austria.

At the entrance of the temple were installed two slabs of white marble, which in Hebrew inscribed the names of the Vidin Jews, gave their lives for the freedom of Bulgaria - from the rebels in the Liberation War to the soldiers who died in the First World War.

Unfortunately, in the mid-20th century, the synagogue lost its

Contacts : religious function. In 1948, nearly 1200 Vidin Jews left for the 3700 Vidin new state of Israel, and the synagogue was handed over to Location 29 Baba Vida run the municipality of Vidin. In 1950 the house of worship street was converted into a warehouse and gradually the magnificent building lost its luster. In 1986, on the Phone recommendation and with the means of the then Committee turizam_vd@ab Email on Culture, the restoration of the temple, which today has v.bg the status of a cultural monument, began. Because of the wonderful acoustics of the building, the people of Vidin Website www.vidin.bg intended to use it for performing symphonic concerts. In 1991, repair work was halted and the property was returned Accessibilit to the assets of the already small Jewish community in the y city. Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Albutin Rock Monastery Description

Category Religion The name of the monastery "Albotin" comes from a disappeared village with the same name, which is mentioned GPS coordinates (Decimal in the register of Vidin's "kaaza" from 1560. The rock cloister degrees): was built in the rock on the north side of the river, using 44.030174, 22.628885

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natural caves and additionally carving rooms and exterior facades and walls. The monastery complex is easily accessible and this has contributed to its almost complete destruction.

The premises at the Albotinsky Monastery were chained and each had access to a terrace once covered by a unifying porch hanging over the river. The monastery church is carved into the innermost part of the bend of the rock massif and is oriented according to the requirements of the canon from west to east. The remnants of the three-nave temple, richly decorated with murals and decorative columns and cornices, speak of a diligent prayer life and once prosperity. It is not known to whom the monastery temple was dedicated, but it is supposed that it is on the Resurrection of Christ, because of the tradition still preserved on the second day of Easter at the foot of the monastery at the foot of the monastery. Contacts : On the road The monastery was active in the 14th century, as evidenced from Gradets Location by preserved fragments of murals and inscriptions, and village to jewelry (earrings, earrings, bracelets) found in the 29 Rabrovo village discovered Christian tombs. The graves are of lay persons, Phone donors, donors of the monastery and members of the turizam_vd@abv monastery fraternity. Email .bg On the lawn in front of the monastery there is a chapel Website www.vidin.bg "Ascension"

Accessibilit y Languages spoken

“Holy Trinity” Rakovitsa Tourist site monastery Description

Category Religion

GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): The Holy Trinity Monastery in Rakovica was founded in the 43.771939, 22.418227

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Middle Ages, with the only surviving church ever since dating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The rest of the monastery was destroyed several times during the Ottoman rule, and the last time the monastery was looted in the early 19th century. during the revolt led by Osman Pazvantoglu.

In 1848. the first secular school in northwestern Bulgaria was opened in the Rakovishki Monastery. The monastery was also the center of the national liberation struggles of the Bulgarian Contacts : people. There the leaders of the National Liberation To the west on Organizations of Kulsko, Vidin, Belogradchik and Lomsko the road decide on an uprising (Vidin Uprising) in 1850. After the between Location Liberation, in memory of those killed in the uprising, a new Rakovitsa village church was built with a high bell tower attached to its and Kireevo western side. village Phone Email

Website

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Monastery of Holy Mother's Tourist site Assumption Description

Category Religion Legend has it that the Izvor Monastery was founded in the GPS coordinates (Decimal 12th c. by the Russian Prince Izvor Tavorsky. After the fall of degrees): the Vidin kingdom, the monastery was plundered and 43.740185, 22.815911 destroyed by the Turks, the monks were killed, and the remaining survivors left the monastery and it was deserted. There is no specific information about the history of the monastery during Ottoman rule.

In the middle of the 17th c. The Spring Monastery was restored at the initiative of Hieromonk Sylvester. According to a file in a monastery manuscript life of St. Ephraim Sirni, the

Contacts : monastery was earlier called "Dry Stream" and after its restoration it was named "Izvorski". In the 18th century. In the Near the village Location monastery, the population from the surrounding villages of Izvor regularly came to the church, and some of the more

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Phone prominent peasants were buried in his yard.

Email Until 1860 The Abbey Monastery was ruled by Abbot, the last of them, Hieromonk Agapius, fled to in 1861. The other Website monks Cyril, Gabriel and Chrysanthus built in 1864. the iconostasis of the church. The three hardworking monks are

Accessibilit buried in the monastery courtyard behind the altar. y In 1915. The Source Monastery acquired the status of a maiden monastery and a brotherhood of 3 nuns and 3 novices was created. In 1923. The restoration of the church, written by Zhelyazko Serbezov, is coming to an end. Languages BG spoken Until 1965. The abbess of the Izvor Monastery was Mother Apollinaria, and from 1965 to 2004. the abbess is Natalia's mother. Since 2004. The abbot of the monastery is Archimandrite Basil, who deals with the overall improvement of the monastery complex.

Tourist site The Holy Trinity Red Church Description

Category Religion An old church near the Belogradchik village of Borovitsa has GPS coordinates (Decimal been preserved for a century and a half, even when the place degrees): next to it remained without people. It is known as the Red 43.588012, 22.726404 Church. Soon there is an operating monastery near it, which is under construction. It is called the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity was built in 1866 by the inhabitants of the village of Borovitsa. The church is a one-nave, with a vault of stone without a wooden structure on the roof. of the village. It is made of red stones taken from the red rocks around. The stone-builders have carved them out for construction, and the Contacts : building itself has been erected by Italian bricklayers. The 1.5 km from the murals and icons are the work of unknown Russian painters. village of The uniqueness of the temple is related to these red rocks Location Borovitsa, and the red stones from which it was erected. A cemetery has Belogradchik also emerged near the temple, and traces of the foundations municipality of nearby houses and of the cell school can be seen. But apart Phone Father Nifont from the red color, the meteorite, the church is also Email interesting with the votive crosses around, the nearby two caves, the priestly prayer shelter, the remains of a Celtic Website sanctuary and a Roman fort. After the Liberation, the inhabitants of Borovitsa left their Accessibilit village and moved to a more convenient location - 2 km from y the temple. They descended from the high, where they fled Languages from the Turks and settled in the low - on the road from Sofia BG spoken to Belogradchik and to the river Lom. People built houses

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here, a school, but not a temple. They continued to travel 2 km to the red, and their temple remains to this day. Even the cemetery is still operational.

Tourist site Danube River / beaches / Description

Category Nature The Danube is the second longest river in Europe. It is the only large river in Europe flowing from west to east. GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): It originates from the Baar Plateau in the Black Forest 43.987823, 22.882818 Mountains in Germany, where two smaller rivers, Brigach and Breg, merge into Donaueschingen and hence the river is called the Danube. From this point it flows southeast for 2859 km, flowing through the Delta into Romanian territory. The average river flow before the delta is 6500 m3 / second.

The majesty of the Danube, bearing the strength of 10 countries through which the calmness of the great slow- flowing water flows, certainly makes the Danube one of the most important natural sites in the Vidin region, especially for people over 55.

There are many tourism opportunities related to the Danube River. Dozens of cruise ships sail the Danube waters every summer, mooring in Vidin. From Vidin you can rent a motor boat for a walk to the or the beaches of the village of Kutovo. A kayak or sailboat trip during the TID /Danube regatta/ in August or self-organized is an exciting experience. Contacts : The beaches of Koshava and Novo selo offer great conditions Location Danube River for rest and are a good alternative to the sea. What's more, under the water, in the forests and marshes, on Boat ride - the river banks, all kinds of miracles happen - sterlets spawn Phone M.Petrov in the sandy shallows, a gray water snake catches mosquitoes +359 878 544031 until it is surprised by some herons, and the beavers build Email dams and create new wetlands for one night. These are just some of the hundreds of species that live here under the Website ancient laws of nature. In addition to its rich fauna, the Danube, its shores and wetlands are home to a unique flora Accessibilit that includes clematis, oak and white water lily. y Languages BG, EN, DE spoken

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Tourist site Belogradchik Rocks Description

Category Nature The Belogradchik Rocks are about 30 km long, 3 to 5 km wide. The highest of them reach 200 m. The central group of rocks GPS coordinates (Decimal that are in close proximity to Belogradchik besides the rocks degrees): on which the fortress is built are the Madonna, the Horseman, 43.625408, 22.685495 the Monks, the Schoolgirl, the Lion, the Bear, Adam and Eve, the Castle. 4 km from the town between the cave Lepenitsa Izvos and the asphalt road lies the wonderful world of Markashnitsa. Around Borovitsa rises Borov Kamak - one of the highest and most impressive rocks in the region. The westernmost part of the cliffs is the Zbegovete group and Boric fortress. They are reached through the village of

Dabavka and the view is stunning. The names of each rock figure are the result of peoples imagination. The flora around the rocks includes many endemics specific to the Balkans and recorded in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria. The animal world is represented by a rock eagle, owl, small vulture, black stork, wolf, wild boar, deer, hind, dormouse and more. From Belogradchik, there are several paths winding along the Belogradchik Rocks, suitable for cycling and walking. Particularly suitable for people over 55 are the electric Contacts : bicycles that can be rented in At the end of the , about 230 million years ago, Tourist sandy-marl rocks lay in this region. They were later flooded Information by the sea, at the bottom of which was deposited sand, gravel Center - and clay. Over time, these materials were bound by a sand- Location Belogradchik clay solder. In this way conglomerates and sandstones were 3900 obtained. The reddish color is due to iron oxides and Belogradchik hydroxides. Under the influence of water, winds, and 1A Poruchik temperature fluctuations, the limestones of these parts Dvoryanov street collapsed and revealed highly cracked conglomerates. Thus, +359 877 881 for millions of years, nature has sculpted sculptured stone Phone 283 sculptures of mythical creatures, humans, animals and birds. tourism@belogra Over 100 caves were formed in the sandstone and limestone. Email dchik.bg These rock columns form a natural fortress whose defense potential has been used since ancient times. http://belograd Website chik.bg Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

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Tourist site Magura Cave Description Magura Cave is located 25 km. from Belogradchik. It is formed Category Nature in the limestone mound. Magura is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria with a total GPS coordinates (Decimal length of open galleries so far - about 2500 m. It is composed degrees): of a main gallery, oriented southeast - northwest and three 43.727915, 22.582928 side branches. The individual halls have impressive dimensions - more than 200 m long, more than 50 m wide and 20 m high. , stalagmites and stalactones reveal a wonderful underground tale to the visitor. The average annual temperature of the cave is about 12 degrees. Air humidity ranges from 55% to 80%. The rapid drip of water droplets is undoubtedly associated with small water basins in galleries in the vault. The presence of air currents in the cave is explained by the regular replacement of the heated cave air with the colder ones outside and back. Of the typical cave animals in the Magura Cave, two species have been identified - woodpecker and snow-white diplora. A permanent and interesting inhabitant of the cave is the knee-jerk - an insect bouncing like a flea up to 2 mm in size. Contacts : There are four species of bats in the Magura Cave - a large Village of horseshoe bat, a small horseshoe bat, a large nightgown and a Rabisha, Location long-winged cave bat. Belogradchik Location and favorable living conditions are factors that have municipality led to human population. The first traces of its presence date Phone +359 932 9 6677 back to the Late Paleolithic (8,000 BC). During this period the muzeibelogradch cave was used mainly for temporary shelter. Since then, there Email [email protected] are cave paintings in the “Landsplit” gallery. In the ensuing epochs - Neolithic and Eneolithic, Magura became a muzeibelogradch Website permanent habitat for the prehistoric man, who expressed his ik.com spiritual condition in creating scenes with dancing people, Accessibilit hunters and animals. y An open settlement proves settlement life in the Bronze Age / 3200-2100 years. There were found place for living, furnaces and firelaces. The tools of stone and bone, weapons and ornaments were discovered. The drawing gallery is 375 meters from the natural entrance of the cave. The total number of images exceeds 750. Languages Fossilized bats guano are drawn and are performed in the BG, EN spoken widest chronological range. The image subject include hunting, mythological, ritual and atiphale scenes (depicting a mushroom fiery mushroom containing a substance with a narcotic effect) arranged in friezes. The "Sanctuary" presents the only fully preserved in the cave art from Europe an annual solar calendar of the late Eneolithic.

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Tourist site Venetsa Cave Description The cave was discovered in 1970 by the cavemen of the club Category Nature “Bel Prilep” (White bat) – Belogradchik, after blasting work in the stone quarry. The following year it was declared a natural GPS coordinates (Decimal landmark because of its extremely beautiful calcicidal degrees): formations and ice crystals. They resemble flowers, pillars, 43.630530, 22.736322 animals. Unlike the formations in the other famous cave in Vidin - "Magura", those in "Venetsa" are colored.

The cave has five halls, but the most beautiful formations are the third and fourth. They contain stalactites, stalagmites, stalactones, coralites, sinter plates, lakes colored in brown, red and yellow. Some of the most interesting are in the fourth hall - resembling rock maces - where the bottom of an ancient lake used to be. In the last, fifth hall, there are not many formations, but there are six successive gaps, the largest one with a depth of 12 meters.

There are also so-called "rock drapery" in the Venetsa cave - millennial deposits that resemble a descending curtain. The cave already has its own fauna - with the opening of the

Contacts : entrance and the installation of special grilles, bats of the species Small Horseshoe and Large Horseshoe come to winter, Near Oreshets Location and Long-nosed bats enter in the fall. village The total length of the Venetsa is 300 meters, 200 meters are Phone +359 877 246390 accessible to visitors. The denivelation is 26 meters, no special obstina_dimovo equipment is required. People must enter with helmets. Not Email @abv.bg accessible for hard-moving visitors, there are stairs on the https://www.fa platforms. The children enter with an escort. cebook.com/pro Website file.php?id=1000 08878361642 Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Rabisha Lake Description

Category Nature The Rabisha Lake is the largest inland lake in Bulgaria. During GPS coordinates (Decimal the displacement of the earth layers, a local hollow is degrees):

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43.741406, 22.594299 formed, the bottom of which is subsequently filled with a considerable amount of water. An extremely rare natural anomaly. It is of tectonic origin. The lake has almost no catchment area. A dam wall has been erected at its western end, which transforms the natural lake into a dam. The lake offers ideal conditions for surfing and swimming. Attractive sites: for hunting - water birds, for fishing - carp, silver carp, grass carp, pike, catfish, etc.

The immediate proximity of the Rabisha Lake to the Magura Contacts : Cave makes it extremely suitable for combining cultural, 1.5 km from the historical, water-recreational and fishing tourism. Location village of Rabisha Phone

Email

Website

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Tourist site Bozhuritsa resort area Description

Category Nature Bozhuritsa is a beautiful natural area near Vidin, with nice accommodation. GPS coordinates (Decimal It is reached through the village of Sinagovtsi, 20 km south of degrees): Vidin. Here you can find the only high-stemmed forest in 43.888255, 22.747818 northwestern Bulgaria. The area is called by this name because of the red field peonies that grow around. Bononia Travel Society - Vidin has a three-storey chalet with a capacity of 30 beds. From the hut begins an eco trail, which anyone can walk around. The hut is located in the recreation area Bozhuritsa, which is isolated in the only oak forest in northwestern Bulgaria. It is located 18 km southwest of the town of Vidin, between the villages of Sinagovtsi, Ivanovtsi and Milchina Luka.

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Another hut, “Starite Borove” hut also welcomes tourists in the heart of the area and is known as an extremely pleasant place with young and hospitable hosts. Green Pease Hotel also offers accommodation and outdoor pools.

The Bozhuritsa Dam, used in the past for Vidin's beach in the city, has been given a concession today and is used for commercial fishing. Its volume is 1,430 million cubic meters, and the flooded area is 237 decares. The height of its wall is Contacts : 17 m. The Bozhuritsa Dam is filled by the Milchinska and Location Bozhuritsa area Yasova Bara rivers.

Bulgarian The surrounding area is full of mushrooms, berries, herbs and Tourist flowers. The presence of large and small game provides Association - conditions for hunting tourism. The area offers good conditions for short and long-term Phone Vidin recreation in a forest park with opportunities for picnics, +359 94 600- walks, hunting and fishing. Anyone who wants to feel the 546, +359 896 spirit of virgin nature can benefit. 766 143, dunav_vidin@a On May 1, the Bononia Tourist Association - Vidin organizes a Email bv.bg traditional celebration of the large meadow where visitors can climb a hot air balloon, play paintball, ride a bicycle or Website take in the river by the river.

Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Geological phenomenon Tourist site "Chuturite" Description

Category Nature A little known natural phenomenon is located near the town of Gramada. On the eastern part of the Marina neighborhood near GPS coordinates (Decimal the town there is an area of about 250 acres, littered with degrees): stones - these are the Chuturi. These fossils are like a forest 43.849153, 22.662552

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cut 50-60 centimeters above the ground. They are scattered around. In places they are two or three meters apart, at greater distances as nature has thrown at them. There are two brothers somewhere, coming from a common root. Their average thickness is 45 centimeters, and some reach more than a meter. All are in the form of a carefully cut with a saw thick- cut wood. In the middle they have a cylindrical opening that goes up to thirty centimeters to the root of the stem. They really look like chuturi, as in this region they call short carved Contacts : trees in which salt or wheat are chopped. Village of Location The Chuturi are unique geological formations for the country Gramada and the Balkan region, but although they have been a natural Phone landmark for over 40 years, they remain unknown. They are popular only with the local population but have no connection Email with the cultural and spiritual development of the region as mgu.bg/geosites people are not aware of their geological origin. They are an Website /chuturite.html extremely stable geological phenomenon as they are made of limestone - some of the strongest rocks in nature. During Accessibilit Communism in the 1960s, they were subjected to mass y destruction in a crushed stone career. However, in 1968 this madness was stopped and declared a natural landmark. Languages BG, EN However, their protection lies only in the termination of their spoken career and the enclosure of a small area, which later becomes a wasteful land. Tourist site Stakevskite House Complex Description Rural, wine, Category culinary tourism Berchina's house and Anina's house in the village of Stakevtsi offer an opportunity for rural and children's camp tourism. GPS coordinates (Decimal Here, thanks to the hospitable owners of the complex, degrees): everything is real and one can easily convey the atmosphere 43.546427, 22.566011 of the Bulgarian village. Horseback riding, goat milking, meeting with a typical Turlac style of cooking are available.

With family or friends, you will find a true vacation amidst a unique blend of pristine nature, clean air, authentic architecture and impactful mountain landscapes. The complex can organize attractive tourist routes and various activities according to the interests of visitors. The cozy atmosphere combined with the natural beauties of the area can make

Contacts : your stay here a real and unforgettable pleasure.

Village of Location From the complex you can also visit the Bela voda Waterfall Stakevtsi with a drop of 15 meters, which is located 10 km in the +359 888 direction of Serbia. Phone 764 423, Boyan Minkov

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boqnminkov@ab Email v.bg www.stakevci. Website com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Borovitsa Winery Description Rural, wine, Category culinary Borovitsa Wine Cellar is mainly oriented towards the creation tourism of boutique wines with a distinctive character and bearing the GPS coordinates (Decimal specificity of the terrarium, while Northwestern Bulgaria is a degrees): region that offers good opportunities for obtaining grapes and 43.586611, 22.758433 wine with distinctive characteristics.

Due to the extremely limited quantities of processed grapes, wines produced in the cellar "Borovitsa" are in small quantities, but with a very distinct character, reflecting the specificity of the respective terroir. Some of the vineyards are located below the famous Belogradchik rocks on red sandy-rocky soil.

The wine is made by hand, no pumps are used, the barrels are gravitationally filled.

The winery uses a modern bottling machine, thanks to which no oxygen is left in the bottle. This avoids preservatives and maintains very low sulfite levels. Although small, the winery makes at least 25 different types of wine in a limited series of 250 to 400 bottles.

Contacts : Such a diversity of soils, only 50 km in diameter, is nowhere the village of else to be found, according to Borovitsa. Near Belogradchik the Borovitsa, Location soils are red, with many iron oxides, minerals and trace Belogradchik elements. Soil began to form 240 million years ago from the municipality weathering of the rocks. Depending on whether it is more +359 887 806 stony, clay or sandy, the cellar planted a vineyard in Borovitsa Phone 222; +359 887 with consulting help. 806 200 info@winwines. Email The wines of Borovitsa are not submitted as standard net

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www.winwine description. Created by the talent of the two partners - Website s.net oenologists Ognyan Tsvetanov and Adriana Srebrinova, they impress with their character. For example, the unusual DUX Accessibilit wine, a blend of red varieties aged for 5 years in barrels, or the y incredible Sensum (Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon), or the Pinot Noir and Gamza varieties. Languages BG, EN, FR spoken The winery offers wine degustation after booking in advance.

Tourist site Magura Winery Description Rural, wine, Category culinary tourism Magura Winery was established in 1967 near the village of Rabisha. It is located in one of the most mysterious and GPS coordinates (Decimal beautiful places in Bulgaria, between the Danube river and degrees): the red sand rocks of the town of Belogradchik and the 43.726441, 22.576615 natural phenomenon of the Magura cave. The idea for its creation is generated by the needs of the domestic and international market for high quality wines and champagne. The Bats Gallery, which has been a part of the Magura Cave for decades, has been transformed into a place for aged wines.

Due to its soil and climatic conditions, the area around the Rabisha Mound is close to that of the French Champagne region, which is why the best in Bulgaria natural sparkling wine is produced using classical technology. The wine is stored and matured slowly in the deep underground of the cave. The constant temperature of 12 ° C, the darkness and the appropriate humidity in the bowels of the Bat Gallery create conditions for natural champagne. Traditional bottle technology and three years of maturation transform the grape

Contacts : juice into a sophisticated sparkling wine with a unique taste.

The land of the In addition to its natural sparkling Magura wine, the winery village of specializes in the production of high quality, red and white Location Rabisha, wines and brandies. The area of Rabisha village incorporates Belogradchik the concept of terroir favorable for the development of red municipality and white wine varieties. Phone +359 2 857 00 15 office@maguraw Email The Magura Wine Cellar organizes tastings both on weekdays inery.bg and weekends. www.magurawin The tastings are held in a unique setting - in the Bat Gallery Website ery.bg of Magura Cave. Deep in the depths of the cave, under the

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Accessibilit monotonous sound of the existing , where bottles of y natural sparkling wine and aged selected wines mature, our wine guide tells the story of the winery and organizes a "journey" through the various wine styles featured in the winery selection.

Languages Combining in one of the unique atmosphere in this place, BG, EN spoken where the spirit of the past millennia, with myths and legends of ancient times and the pleasure to drink from the best Bulgarian wines, is turning into an unforgettable experience ... This is the reason everyone who has visited us. once again to come back.

Tourist site Chateau de Val Winery Description Rural, wine, Category culinary tourism Chateau de Val was founded in 1998. by Mr. Val Markov with the tendency to resume the tradition of the Vidin region and GPS coordinates (Decimal restore the long forgotten quality and unique wine. degrees): 44.025228, 22.672376 Chateau de Val produces high quality natural red and white wines.

The pride of the Château de Val cellar is called GRAND CLARET - red blended wine. The Chateau de Val also produces: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Lonely, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Kuve, Riesling, Vioonia. All wines are produced in the traditional style (natural grape production), necessarily fermented and aged in Contacts : American, French and Bulgarian oak barrels. Gradets village, 201 Parva The wines of Chateau de Val are highly regarded throughout Location Street, Vidin the world and have received numerous awards at numerous Municipality competitions. +359 888 00 17 Phone 52 The Chateau de Val cellar is located 3 km outside the village wines@chateaud of Gradets, which is located 12 km northwest of the town of Email eval.com Vidin, near the Albutin Monastery.

http://www.cha Website A tasting can be arranged at the cellar after reservation. teaudeval.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

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Torlaschki folklore fair of Tourist site Chuprene Description Event and Category festival tourism In the village of Chuprene there is a traditional Turlashki folklore fair called "Kad kum prase i ti vrechu". In recent years, GPS coordinates (Decimal the fair has become international with the participation of degrees): groups from Serbia and Romania. 43.517516, 22.664615 The motto of the fair is in Torlac language and means that when the godfather always promises at the wedding that he will give this and that, the young family must be ready to accept the gift immediately if the godfather gives up. In a metaphorical sense, it means that when something is given to you in life, you must be prepared to take it, then you may regret it.

Contacts : The folklore feast is non-competitive, with dance and singing Chuprene groups participating in authentic and cultivated folklore, as village, Location well as groups representing rituals and customs. Individual Chuprene performers of all ages also take the stage. municipality

Phone +359 9327 2580 A mini Miss and a mini Mister Torlac contest will be held during ob_chuprene@ the fair, in which children up to 10 years of age will Email abv.bg participate. The stage can also see reviews of national costumes from Bulgaria and Serbia. The guests and residents of Website chuprene.com Chuprene have the opportunity to attend and taste the traditional Torlac dishes and ritual breads. Some of the old and Accessibilit forgotten customs such as wool pulling, spinning, weaving, y working with a potter's wheel are presented, and anyone can Languages buy eco-friendly produce from local farmers. BG spoken

Tourist site Vidin Fair Description Event and For the first time the Vidin Fair was held in 1892. It was Category festival tourism originally designed as an agricultural and livestock fair. In 1935, it was decided to start the fair annually on August 28, GPS coordinates (Decimal lasting between 7 and 13 days. Then the fair was known degrees): abroad and many foreigners came to it. In 1992 it was 43.996084, 22.888049

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renamed the First Vidin International Fair. That same year, it closed its doors until its renewal in 2007. Since 2013, it has been held near the Baba Vida Fortress. Admission to the fair and concerts is free! In 2018. The fair was attended by 20,000 people and is expected to increase in 2019. Grill, salads and cold drinks are available. You can buy souvenirs, wines, clothes, donuts, pizzas, soft drinks and lots Contacts : of other things at the fair stalls. For the youngest there are Former Barracks, carousels, swings, trampolines, trains and other Location Vidin entertainment.

Phone +359 94 609 416 Parking places, 24-hour security and a medical center are Email [email protected] provided.

Website www.vidin.bg Near the fair in Baba Vida is the medieval Budin festival - August 24-25, 2019 Accessibilit y Languages BG spoken

International Festival at the Tourist site pass "Kada Boaz" Description Event and Category festival tourism This is probably the largest international fair in the Balkans - the one on the Kad Boise Pass near the villages of Salash, GPS coordinates (Decimal Bulgaria and Novo Korito, Serbia. It was started in 1925 and degrees): was associated with the day of St. ProCopy. After periods of 43.620147, 22.508567 interruption, the fair is held every year on the passage between the Bulgarian village of Salash and the Serbian Novo Korita. A few years ago, the construction of a Kad Boise border checkpoint began, which has not been completed.

Traditionally, brass orchestras and amateur ensembles on both sides showcase authentic and cultivated folklore. As the region in both Bulgaria and Serbia is specific, it is highly respected in the Turkish - language, cuisine, dance, songs. Craft exhibitions

Contacts : are often organized and natural products are offered

Tourist It is mandatory to carry an ID card. Information Location The International Boise Pass is held annually in the third week Center - of July. At the border between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Belogradchik Republic of Serbia, in the area of the villages of Salash and Phone +359 93149168 Novo Korito, the fair lasts for three days - from Friday to Email tourism@belogra Sunday and aims at commercial and cultural exchange.

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dchik.bg http://belograd Website chik.bg Accessibilit y Languages BG spoken

Tourist site Spa Hotel Neptun Description

Category Spa and wellness The Neptun Hotel in Vidin is the first and only hotel in the city to offer a wide range of spa services - indoor pool, steam GPS coordinates (Decimal bath, sauna, fitness. The hotel has a wonderful view of the degrees): Danube River. It offers a unique panoramic view of the river 43.983691, 22.877409 and the 2. SPA - magic treatment, connection with nature and escape from stress! Literally translated by Sanus Per Aquam, SPA means health through water. The hotel has a restaurant, lobby bar, panoramic and passenger elevator and 23 boutique rooms. A pleasant atmosphere with bright and warm interior colors and designer furniture has been achieved. We offer incredible comfort, Contacts : coziness and tranquility 3700 Vidin Location The hotel has 23 boutique rooms of different styles, each with 8 Danube street a unique interior - both baroque and modernist. Each of the +359 884 850 rooms is equipped with its own bathroom, air conditioning, Phone 139 ; +359 897 mini bar, Phone, satellite TV, cable and WI-FI internet. Guests 850 139 can pamper themselves with a relaxing stay in the hotel_neptun_vi comfortable bath or shower. Email [email protected] www.hotelneptu Website nvidin.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

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MONTANA CULTURAL AND NATURAL SITES

Regional History Tourist site Museum - Montana Description

Category Culture- historical GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): 43.406064, 23.226977

Contacts : The Montana Regional Museum of History was established in 3400 Montana 1953. The museum houses treasures from the ancient history Location 3 Graf Ignatiev of the city - the Eneolithic. The museum exhibits a rich street collection of flint, stone and bone tools - flint scraps, knives +359 96 307481 and arrowheads, stone hammers and axes, hoes and deer Phone +359 96 3051 56 antlers. +359 96 3072 86 Up to now, Regional Museum of History - Montana has over bgmontanamuse Email 50,000 movable cultural assets. Among them are epigraphic [email protected] monuments from the Roman era in the Lapidarium, a copy of www.montana- the treasure discovered in , a medieval treasure Website museum.weebly. from the fourteenth century, gold jewelry from the Roman com era, a collection of old icons, a collection of old Accessibilit carpets and weapons. y Cultural values owned by the museum are displayed in the Languages spoken Exhibition Hall, the Mihailov House, the Lapidarium BG, EN Archaeological Exposition and the Ancient Fortress.

Tourist site Lapidarium Description

Category culture- Lapidarium - archeological exposition is a place where historical archeological stones are arranged - statues, stone slabs with GPS coordinates (Decimal epigraphs, architectural details such as columns, friezes and degrees): acroteria. The Lapidarium Archaeological Exposition, located 43.406064, 23.226977 in the beautiful park of the Popish Garden, near the Church of

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St. Cyril and Methodius and only a few minutes away from St. Michael's House. The archeological exposition includes fifty- six monuments found in the city and region. Nearly inconspicuous inscriptions can be seen on the monuments, which are the only springs for the plates and most of the information testifies to the history of the city and the culture of the people who once lived on these lands. Some of the inscriptions testify to the beliefs of the local people in Diana, considered the goddess and patron saint of the city, of Apollo and many other deities. Some plates bear witness to the Contacts : Roman emperors who once ruled over the rulers of Lower 3400 Montana Moesia and the region, as well as the armor and deeds of Location 3 Graf Ignatiev various servicemen and even ordinary people. Street The monuments have been proclaimed cultural and historical +359 96 307481 values and various scientific expeditions have been made Phone +359 96 305156 during their discovery, in order to clarify the origin and the +359 96 307286 information written on them. bgmontanamuse Email [email protected] www.montana- Website museum.weebly. com

Accessibilit y Languages spoken BG, EN

Castra ad Montanesium Tourist site Ancient Fortress Description The ancient fortress is located at the height of "Kaleto" or culture- Category "Gradishte" in the southwestern part of Montana, about 40 historical meters above the city level. As a result of archaeological GPS coordinates (Decimal excavations, a gate with a tower was discovered, a large degrees): tower - a splendid model for fortress construction in the III - 43.401675, 23.218474 IV c. as well as Slavic dwellings and a sanctuary. The first settlement of this strategic and easily protected height is from the Stone - Copper Age - IV millennium BC. The Thracian settlement was fortified with a strong fortress wall (with a thickness of more than 1 meter) that follows the outline of the terrain and dates from the end of the Early Iron Age. The importance of the hill was also appreciated by the Roman Contacts : authorities. 3400 Montana Probably with the establishment of Roman military units (1st Location “Kaleto”or Sugambrian cohort, which participated in the suppression of “Gradishte” the Thracian uprising since 26 AD), a fort was built. Around

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Peak, in the the military camp, mentioned for the first time in an southwestern epigraphic monument from 134 AD. and the ancient sanctuary part of town at the spring develops a settlement, which in 160-161 +359 96 307481 received a municipal right - i. status of a city with adjacent Phone +359 96 305156 territory. +359 96 307286 The name of the village - Montana, is preserved in the bgmontanamuse inscription from the II century. The economic and cultural Email [email protected] flourishing of Montana during the II - IV centuries was www.montana- interrupted in the middle of the III century by the Gothic Website museum.weebly. invasions. The danger of new barbaric attacks begins with the com construction of the fortress. Accessibilit When these attacks intensified in the 4th or 5th centuries,

y from the south and east around the fortress, protechism (the second fortress wall) was erected. The fortress was demolished in the 6th - 7th centuries during Languages spoken any attack by the Avars or the Slavs. Subsequently, a Slav BG, EN settlement was created on the ruins. Today the fort is freely accessible and has been partially restored.

Museum Complex, Tourist site Berkovitsa Description The Berkovitsa Museum is a municipal cultural institute Category culture- historical responsible for the preservation of the movable cultural GPS coordinates (Decimal heritage of the city and the municipality. It houses three degrees): historical sites - the Art Gallery, the Ethnographic Museum, 43.239445, 23.126604 the Ivan Vazov House Museum. It was established as a Museum of Ivan Vazov, established in 1950 and opened to visitors in 1957. In 1963, a decision was made to create a municipal mosque with seven departments, including Nature and Art. Several more exhibitions were gradually created, with an emphasis on ethnographic and artistic collections. The museum unites the existing Ethnographic Museum, the Ivan Vazov House Museum and the Otis Paisii City Art Gallery in Berkovitsa. The Ethnographic Museum in Berkovitsa has a rich exposition, which introduces the lifestyle and customs of people from northwestern Bulgaria and is included in the Hundred National Tourist Sites. Its warehouses hold thousands of unique arts and crafts, as well as folk customs. The visitor can see the rich color diversity in the production of clothing and carpets, Contacts: as well as jewelry, household items and some traditional 3500 Berkovitsa customs for the region. Most of the exhibits are related to Location 11 Porochik handicrafts, wearables and household items - during the Grozdanov Ottoman rule, Berkovitsa was a developed settlement, mainly

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Street in the production of pots. During the Iron Age, in the first millennium BC, the Berkesian region was inhabited by the Thracian tribe of the Mizzi, and in the middle of the Phone +359 95 388 045 millennium, related tribals settled there. The Thracians built museumcomplex fortresses at strategic heights, raised agricultural crops and Email berkovitsa@abv. livestock, made weapons and produced gold in the valleys of bg the Zlatitsa and Vreshtitsa rivers. Restitution of the museum complex buildings after the democratic changes at the end of Website the twentieth century is a major blow to museum work in the city. Accessibilit The Ivan Vazov Museum House was opened in 1957. After a y major overhaul on February 15, 1980, the museum's new exhibit was opened. The Ipeklian house, in which Ivan Vazov lived while presiding over the Berkovitsa District Court between 7 March 1879 and 18 September 1880, was built in the early 19th century and has a typical Bulgarian Revival exterior and interior - authentic fireplace and carved ceilings. , a large oda with dollops, murals and almonds. In 1940 it was declared a national antiquity, and in 1964, an architectural and architectural monument of culture of national importance. The exhibition in the museum presents the creative career of Ivan Vazov, with the greatest attention being paid to his Berk period. An underground staircase leads from the ground floor Languages spoken to the upper floor that is habitable. The right wing, in which BG, EN Ivan Vazov lived, is the male part - a spacious room illuminated by numerous windows, a fireplace, a carved ceiling and ala-frangi on the walls. The left wing is a female part, lived in it by one of the members of Berkovsky court Ivan Stoyanov, who is a prototype of Dormidolsky in the story Mitrofan and Dormidolski. The sinking in this room is like a fish-bone, and in the translation room the visitors will see an impressive carved ceiling, made by the masters of Tryavna. The Ivan Vazov House-Museum Berkovitsa brings the atmosphere of the Renaissance with its unique color. Each year, the house is visited by thousands of our and foreign tourists, who came to express their respect and respect for the immortal work of the patriarch of Bulgarian literature.

Clock Tower, Tourist site Berkovitsa Description The most distinctive architectural monument in the center of Category culture- historical Berkovitsa - its symbol and emblem.

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GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): It was built in 1762-64. It is 21.42 m high. The names of the 43.237290, 23.123474 masters are unknown. Its regular masonry with wooden belts and narrow braids set it apart from surrounding public buildings and remind of antiquity and romance. The octagonal second part of the tower is of wooden construction, covered with shingles. It has a clock mechanism and a bell. The sun's rays play on the pointed roof of the Clock Tower, which still measures time with its copper ring today.

Today, the Clock Tower is a cultural monument of national importance.

Contacts :

Location 3500 Berkovitsa Town Center Phone Email Website Accessibilit y Languages spoken BG, EN

Tourist site Museum of History, Varshets Description culture- Category The Varshets Historical Museum was founded in 1999. The historical building in which it is housed was built in the 1930s as a private GPS coordinates (Decimal home with unique architecture. degrees): The museum has four sections: "Antique", "Archaeological finds 43.194074, 23.286330 and coin collection", "Balneology" and "Ethnography".

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The finds that are exhibited in the "Antique" section are from Thracian and Roman times. A rich ethnographic collection is also presented, consisting mainly of clothing and lifestyle items for the people of the region. Varshets' most recent history as a spa resort is presented with a rich documentary collection and numerous archival photographs. The most valuable exhibit in the museum is the unique bronze sculpture from the 2nd century BC. of the Thracian boy-god Telesphore, which today is a symbol of the city. The Municipal Museum also has a separate exhibition hall, which periodically hosts exhibitions. The Art Gallery of Varshets is located on the same street in the city. The gallery has 664 Contacts : canvases and 27 sculptures of wood, clay and plaster. The 3540 Varshets gallery's fund is raised by donations from Plainers in the Arts Location 82 Republic during the traditional Holiday of the resort, mineral water and Street the Balkans (August). Exhibits of Bulgarian and foreign artists +359 9527/3156 are presented, including artists from Germany, Vietnam and Phone +359 879 299 others. 984 tic_varshets@ab Email In the town of Varshets you can take a stroll in the famous City v.bg Forest Park, which covers an area of 800 acres and is the second largest in Bulgaria after the Boris Garden in Sofia. http://www.var Website Established at the beginning of the last century (1911-1912) shets.bg under the leadership of the first doctor, Dr. Damyan

Accessibilit Ivanov, it is a great place for walking and relaxing in Varshets. y It is afforested mainly with coniferous trees, and the most valuable plant species are lyre, cedar, fir tree, fir tree, silver spruce, ginkgo biloba, magnolia, paradise apple and others. In the park are located the Roman steps and the gazebo of the goddess of health Higia. Languages spoken The most famous is Boulevard with Chinari, which is turned into BG, EN a pedestrian zone about 2 km long. The trees are almost 100 years old and their large crowns form a green tunnel. The Bansko Casino is located in the center of Varshets and is part of the Banite Architectural Ensemble - Sunny Garden Park. It was built in 1922 and was electrified in the 1930s. Prince Cyril visited him, to which he is still called the "Royal Casino".

Historical Museum - Tourist site Lom Description

Category culture- The Lom Museum of History was founded on September 20, historical 1925 as the Lom Archaeological Society "Almus" at the

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GPS coordinates (Decimal initiative of Dr. Peter Kardzhiev (a graduate of medicine in St. degrees): Petersburg, former Mayor of Shumen). Dr. Kardzhiev was 43.826717, 23.235500 elected chairman and thanks to his great love for history, he worked tirelessly to collect, preserve and promote the "memory of the people" until 1950. The museum has the following departments: "Archeology", "Bulgaria XV-XIX centuries", "New History", "Ethnography" and "Art". The permanent exhibition is located on the two floors of the museum building on the topics: "Krustyo Pishurka and the first theatrical performances in Lom", "Lomskaya skela" (port), "Deities and images from Crete and Mycenae" (late Contacts : Bronze necropolis near Orsoya village, Lomsko), "Christian 3600 Lom Culture Through the Ages" (icon painting and church utensils), Location 6 Eremia "City-style lifestyle of the late 19th century to the 1940s", Bulgarov street "Lom - the last decades of the 19th-40s of the 20th century Phone +359 971 66069 century ”(administrative structure, economy, crafts, cultural muzei_lom@abv. life),“ cool and firearms ”. The museum also has a temporary Email bg exhibition hall. In the house of the revivalist Dimitar P. Ginin there is a Website http://www.mu permanent ethnographic exposition, which presents a zei.lom.bg traditional national costume, ritual props from winter spring

Accessibilit and summer rituals and customs. Since 1992, the museum has y been presenting to the citizens and guests of Lom the largest spring Christian holiday, the Resurrection of Christ (Easter), a colorful fountain bazaar exhibition - painted eggs modeled on Dimitar Marinov (ethnographer, folklorist and public figure) collected in end of the nineteenth century. The building, which houses the Historical Museum today, was built after the Liberation (1980s) at the initiative of the first district commander in Lom, Captain Pavel Dmitrievich Nechaev with the designation "Municipal House". On the west and south facades at the construction, at the insistence of Cap. Nechaev, there are five epigraphic monuments from the Roman era. In 1920 and 1922-23, the First and Second Lomas Languages spoken communes met in the building. BG, EN In the Lom Museum of History one can also get information about the many ancient buildings, 57 of which were declared architectural monuments of culture (1986). They are located mainly on the main street of the city and were once owned by large trade families (Milanese, Stajkov, Andreevi, Tsenko Todorov, Tsonzarov, Tabakov, Poptodorovi, Kusidis, Bechevi, etc.) who own shops and commercial warehouses in the city. The buildings were built at the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century by projects of Austrian, Belgian, German and Hungarian architects. Their style is "late secession" and "pseudo baroque" and are distinguished by their

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sophisticated taste and refinement of the facades. Of particular interest are the pointed towers, the combination of floral and figural motifs around the tall windows and beautiful ornaments on the twisted balconies.

St. John the Baptist Tourist site Monastery of Lopushan Description

Category Religion The Lopushan Monastery is located in the Chiprovtsi section of the Stara Planina Mountain at an altitude of 300 meters above GPS coordinates (Decimal sea level in the valley of the Dolgodelska River, degrees): between the villages of Pomezhdin, Meliani and Georgi 43.376532, 23.019780 Damyanovo (until 1958 was Lopushna village). The monastery is 21 km away. from Montana, 30 km. from the town of Berkovitsa and 55 km. west of the town of . At the site of the present Lopushan Monastery, St. John the Baptist, there was once another, built as early as the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, subsequently completely destroyed during

the Ottoman rule. Until the monastery was rebuilt in the mid- Contacts : nineteenth century, there is no record of its activity, except that it has been burned and plundered several times. Georgi In the period 1850-1853 the Lopushan monastery was restored Damyanovo Location by the monks of Chiprov Dionysius, Gerasimus and Gideon. village, Montana Then the present-day cathedral church, residential building, District yard, fence and yard fountain were also built. The author of +359 897 86 63 all these buildings and structures was Master Lilo, the founder 46 Phone of one of the most significant revival construction schools in +359 884 20 50 the Slavinsk. 09 Architecture and current state Email In architecture, the Lopushan Church resembles that of the www.lopushansk Monastery and is the work of Master Lilo. It is a three- Website i-manastir.bg nave, triapsid edifice with two horses and two side chapels (St. St. Cosmas and Damian and St. John the Baptist). There Accessibilit are three central domes and two above the side chapels, all y located on high eight-sided drums. In the stone building of the church are carved reliefs with figures of men, animals and separate heads. A man is shown waving a sword and leaning on a rifle. The temple is not painted, but has one of the most Languages beautiful altar iconostasis in , the work of BG spoken the master of the Samokov art school Stoycho Fandakov. In addition to the images of the apostles, eight icons are included in the main iconostasis, made by Stanislav and Nikola Dospevski.

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The residential wing of the Lopushan Monastery is completely designed in the spirit of contemporary monastery architecture. It is two-storey, with hinged construction. In the courtyard of the monastery can be seen and built in 1856 white stone fountain with three spouts. During the Renaissance, a monastery school operated in the Lopushan Monastery, and the monastery was the center of national liberation and church struggles. The monastery became a favorite place of Ivan Vazov and during his stay there he created part of his novel "Under the Yoke". In 1989, the Lopushan Monastery was reconstructed after the northern wing was threatened with collapse. The main credit for this was the then abbot Archimandrite Ambrose, and in his time a new apartment building with two beautiful carved porches was erected. The Lopushan monastery is currently active - male. The residence has rooms for overnight stay. The guests of the monastery can attend the morning and evening services, Holy Sacraments are performed - Baptism, Confession, Communion.

Chiprovtsi Monastery "St. Ivan Tourist site Rilski" Description

Category Religion The Chiprovtsi Monastery is located at the foot of the Yazov Mountain (part of the Western Stara Planina Mountain) in the GPS coordinates (Decimal Chiprovska River Valley, 6 km away. from the town of Chiprovtsi degrees): and 30 km. east of Montana. 43.404108, 22.934195 History of the monastery The Chiprovtsi monastery was built by Bulgarian Catholics in the tenth century and is one of the thirty monasteries of the First Bulgarian Kingdom, which established in the country the Christian religion and the Cyril and Methodius case. It has been an important literary and educational center for nine centuries and continues to exist even after the Hungarian invasions of the 13th century, the fall of Ottoman rule in the fourteenth century, and the raids of Mikhail Hrabri in the 15th century. of

Contacts : Constantine and Fruzhin (XV century) and the Chiprovtsi Uprising (XVII century). 3461 Zhelezna During its existence it was destroyed and rebuilt many times (six village, Location fires and devastations were noted in the annals of the Chiprovtsi monastery). The first destruction of the holy cloister occurred in municipality 1404 after the uprising of Constantine and Fruzhin. The second Phone +359 878 970388 attack on the monastery, which was after the suppression of the Email Chiprovtsi uprising of 1688, had particularly serious

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consequences. The rich monastery library containing valuable Website Slavic books and icons was then destroyed. The Bulgarian Catholic population was forced to move out and the monastery Accessibilit was deserted. y At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Orthodox monks settled in the Chiprovtsi monastery and reconstructed it according to the requirements of their rite. Architecture and current state In the middle of the courtyard stands the monastery church of St. Ivan Rilski, dating from the end of the eighteenth century and renovated in 1829. It is an elongated one-dimensional building, semicircular inside and six-sided outside. The interior of the hull is indented by 4 arches supported by pilasters. When the Orthodox monks were rebuilt in the late 17th century, the original murals were covered with lime, but geometric and floral ornaments appear below the white layer. The iconostasis is carved and decorated with painting and gilding, and the icons on it are the work of Koprivshtitsa painter Hristo Enchev. An interesting building in the Chiprovtsi Monastery is the 3-storey ossuary tower. The bones of the monks and those killed in the Chiprovtsian uprising are stored on its ground floor. A memorial Languages plaque to the entrance of the ossuary celebrates the names of BG spoken Peter Parchevich, Georgi Pejachevich, Mancho Punin of Bistrilitsa village, Varban Penev of Belimel village, Panayot Hitov and Philip Totyu. On the second floor of the tower, which is reached by shaped outer stone steps, there is a small chapel - "St. Athanasius", whose interior is fully decorated with murals. From the last floor, where the bell is located, there is a beautiful view of the monastery courtyard and the surrounding hills. Due to the sloping terrain outside, the monastery looks like an imposing fortress, and from the inside it gives the impression of being dug into the ground. The monastery courtyard is rectangular, with the western and southern sides occupied by buildings and the eastern and northern sides enclosed by stone walls. Currently, the Chiprovtsi Monastery is a permanent establishment and is a complex of churches, two chapels, a three-storey bell tower, residential and farm buildings.

Klisura Monastery "St. St. Tourist site Cyril and Methodius" Description

Category Religion The Klisura Monastery is located along the river Vreshtitsa,

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GPS coordinates (Decimal under the peak of Todorini dolls at the northern foot of Mount degrees): Koznitsa from the Western . It is located 4 43.182887, 23.205479 km. from the village of Barzia (until 1950 - the village of Klisura), about 9 km. from the town of Berkovitsa, 28 km. from the town of Vratsa and 54 km. from Sofia. About 3 km. after the village of Barzia there is a fork to the town of Varshets, after another 5 km. it leads to the ramp to the Klisura Monastery. The road is asphalted and has signposts. Klisura Monastery "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" is a functioning maiden monastery. It is the fourth largest monastery in Bulgaria. The Klisura Monastery was founded in 1240, when it was Contacts : called Vreschecki. In the 15th century the monastery was Location Village of Barzia destroyed by the Turks and remained uninhabited for a long Hotel time. In 1742 it was restored with donations from the +359 0886560612 Klisurians, but 40 years later it was destroyed again. Phone Church However, the monastery is once again resurrected thanks to +359 886560613 the monks and local patriots. The year 1862 is tragic in the history of the Klisura Monastery. Email Then, during the Feast of the Holy Brothers Cyril and http://klisurski Methodius, the monastery was attacked by the Bashibozuka of Website manastir.com/ Berkow's Pasha Yousuf Bey and looted. More than 120 people were killed and the monastery itself was demolished. Accessibilit Close to its present Revival style, the Klisura Monastery was y rebuilt in 1869 by Archimandrite Antim Damyanov, and in 1891. St. Cyril and Methodius Church is officially sanctified by the Metropolitan of Vidin. Today, the Klisura Monastery is active and includes two churches, residential and farm buildings and a private farm. The main church of St. Cyril and Methodius is a three-nave, triapsid, cross-dome building with a dome on an eight-sided drum. It has an open nave, on either side of which stands tall bell towers. The iconostasis is the work of master Stoicho Fandakov, and the icons are painted by Nikola Obrazopisov Languages and date from the 18th to 19th centuries. In 1937 the church BG spoken was painted by the famous Bulgarian painters Mr. Zhelyazkov and Prof. Georgi Bogdanov. A few years ago a new, much smaller St. Nicholas Temple was built in the Klisura Monastery. Many relics (old icons, books, utensils, etc.) are stored in the Klisura Monastery, of which the relics of saints are the most valuable. In 2000, the so-called "aqua vitae" (living water) of the Klisura Monastery was discovered, that comes from the peak of Todorini dolls. The water is spring, low in minerals and considered to be curative.

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Since May 2007, 6 Bulgarian nuns from Vardar Macedonia have also settled in the Klisura Monastery. Each year, the monastery leadership organizes camps for children from all over the country in partnership with Orthodox organizations. The monastery has the status of a monastery settlement.

Dobridol Monastery “Holy Tourist site Trinity” Description

Category Religion When exactly the monastery emerged as a spiritual center is unknown. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. In GPS coordinates (Decimal "complete desolation it remained until 1610, after which it degrees): was restored by Rev. Pimen Zografski." The Dobridol 43.741123, 22.970564 monastery was destroyed two more times, after the suppression of the Chiprovtsi uprising of 1688 and during the Russo-Turkish war of 1828. Until the last restoration at the initiative of Hieromonk Sylvester and funds collected by Christians from near and far settlements and consecrated on July 28, 1860, the monastery bears the name “St. Our Lady ”. F. Kanitz, fascinated by the beautiful countryside, makes a detailed description of this monastery. In 1860 the patron of the monastery was changed and since then it has been called the Holy Trinity. Today, it fascinates with its picturesque location at the only low altitude among the many bays in the Contacts : surrounding area. In our Renaissance cult construction, the 3667 Dobridol monastery church is a rare phenomenon in its construction Location village, Lom and architectural design. An almost square, cruciform, one- municipality apse and one-nave building with a dome on a high ossified Phone drum, it resembles the old church in the Rakovitsa Monastery. The plastic shape of the dome drum issues Gothic loans. Its Email interior is not decorated with murals. The temple is small, the iconostasis too, so all the icons that are there in the Website canon have not been found there. The carving and the painting of the icons are probably the work of the Debar Accessibilit painter, who has worked for many temples in northwestern y Bulgaria for decades. The plastic stone reliefs of people, birds and archangels along the outer west wall of the temple are of interest.

Southwest of the church there is a small chapel dedicated to Languages BG St.St. Kozma and Damian, newly built and inscribed, which spoken contains the holy man. The legend tells him “During the slavery, a rich Turk passed through this place in the Lom region. He led his blind daughter. The girl washed her eyes in the healing spring and looked. The grateful father embraced the Christian faith and erected a chapel near the spring. "F.

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Kanitz describes it as" another spring covered in a dark, chapel-like structure. "

In front of the entrance to the monastery was built in 1861 a large stone fountain with the means of the Lomska baker's esnaf with an inscription. There is another fountain in the courtyard built in 1931 by the prominent Loman citizen Ilia Shcherbanov - an enlightener, a participant in the Lomo Convocation from 1867-68, chairman of the Lom District Council after the Liberation and MP.

Gushovski Monastery "St. Tourist site Archangel Michael" Description From the Gushov Monastery there are few and many left. There Category Religion is little left over from the walls of the former church, small fragments of former paintings and piles of stones from the GPS coordinates (Decimal monastery buildings. To this day, however, the history, degrees): memory and tribute of this place is preserved. As is the legend 43.366242, 22.839424 of the deer - "Gushovets", passed down from generation to generation: Once upon a time in the temple feast of the monastery, a deer with a white spot on its neck - " Gushovets" - came to slaughter itself. People waited for him to rest and drink water and sacrificed him. One year, the deer were late, and they did not wait for him to drink water, but immediately slaughtered him. Since then, the gander has never appeared again. According to some storytellers, when a deer was slaughtered, an unknown voice came from the forest: "This kingdom will perish and the kingdom of will come."

Historians cannot say exactly when the monastery was built, but it is known that it was set on fire during the Chiprovtsi uprising in 1688. The retreating rebels gave last resistance to the haunting hordes.

St. Archangel Michael is the patron saint of the town of

Contacts : Chiprovtsi. The monastery, the Holy Rangel, as many locals call it, is a place of worship today. Every year, on the 6th of Location Near the town of September, the date of the outbreak of the Chiprovtsi Uprising, Chiprovtsi Chiprovtsi gather here and make a great national meal and a Phone turf. In the last years of this day, dozens of Chiprovtsi carpets, called so-called rugs, are warming up in the mountains near the Email remains of the monastery. installation Church of the world- renowned creations of local artists. Website

The nature around the monastery is majestic and the views are

Accessibilit energizing. The area is almost always sunlit. y

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Languages BG spoken

Tourist site Ogosta Dam – Montana Description

Category Nature Ogosta is a dam in northwestern Bulgaria, the fourth largest in terms of area and the second largest artificial reservoir in the GPS coordinates (Decimal country. It was created in the second half of the 20th degrees): century. Three villages were displaced and flooded. 43.399626, 23.209059 Purpose - commercial fishing and fish farming Volume - 506,000 million cubic meters The area covered is 23 600 decares It collects the waters of the Ogosta, Burziya and Zlatitsa rivers, and is located 600 meters southwest of the outskirts of

Montana, 60 meters above city level. The catchment area is Contacts : 948 km2 and the dam itself occupies an area of 23.6 km2. The average annual water mass is 384 million m3 and the total Location volume is 506 million m3. The construction of the dam lasts for 20 years and ends in 1986. Two villages remain under its Phone waters, whose inhabitants were displaced in Montana and Email Berkovitsa - the village of Zhivovtsi, where the writer and artist Ivan Davidkov was born, and the poet, writer and Website journalist Anastas Stoyanov and Kalimanitsa, the native village of the writer Yordan Radichkov. The hydrotechnical facility was built to irrigate large tracts of Accessibilit agricultural land extending from Montana to the Golden Lom y District, but by 1989 only half of the necessary pipeline infrastructure had been constructed and had never been fully completed. At present, the water from the dam is hardly used for irrigation, but for the production of electricity in the two hydroelectric plants - Kosharnik and Ogosta, located on the dam wall. In 1999, the reservoir was designated for industrial fishing. The variety of fish in it is great: carp, caracuda, redfin, platypus, perch, stubble, barbel, catfish, pike, ukley. Languages Ever since its commissioning, the dam has raised doubts that spoken it is dangerous for the immediate vicinity of the district center and the surrounding villages. According to one of the legends in Ogosta Dam, which is very close to the city, huge mutant fish swim as a result of the contamination of the dam with arsenic. The Japanese wanted to do some experiments with the fish and as a result they mutated. They are said to have been huge scares scaring divers and divers. People claim that the view is very scary and when the water of the dam dropped almost everything was

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visible. According to another legend, between the hill Diana (the ancient Greek goddess) above the city and the city itself there is a cave with many tunnels in which many people disappeared. It is even claimed that there is an underground lake in which the aforementioned water horrors also occurred.

Tourist site Kom Peak Description Also called the Big Com. 2016 is high. The Middle Com (1985 m) Category Nature and the Small Com (1959 m) rise to the east. The western, southern and eastern slopes of the Comoros are vast pastures GPS coordinates (Decimal where large flocks of sheep and cattle graze. degrees): The northern slopes and the saddle of the Swamp are 43.174929, 23.052062 overgrown with coniferous forests, and below with beech trees. From here come the Berkovska River, Ginska, Visochitsa and others. From the Chiprovski Balkan, Mount Kom looks like a pile of hay toward the sky blue. Seen from Tuzlata or area called Lokvite, Kom has an exuberant appearance with its almost vertical north slope. In the spring, huge avalanches are torn off and they come down the large funnel. Kom is an easily accessible peak and that is why every day it is visited by a large number of tourists and nature lovers. "Landed on these rocks, on this throne enormous in storms and eagles," in 1880 Vazov describes like this: From here the eye does not find any barriers. The universe before me humbly stretches. The soul breathes proudly. From these mountains the mind to something bright, great is striving. "A marble stone is beaten on top, in which the image of the poet and the above text of the poem "Na Kom" are carved.

Contacts : " Ascended to the top, the tourist can not be surprised. To the north, the view rises above green hills, hills and endless plains, Berkovitsa, Location to the glittering waters of the Danube and beyond, all the way district Montana to the Carpathians. To the northwest, the bare ridge of the Phone Stara Planina Mountain extends with the peaks of Kopren and Email Midzhur, and below are the enchanting Chiprovska outskirts and the picturesque valleys of Ogosta and Tsibritsa. To the west, Website the view is towards the Yugoslav mountains. To the south one can see the bare, bald hills of the mountain and the Sofia field. The waters of the wandering Iskar glitter nowhere, and Accessibilit rises like a huge scenery over the capital. The snowy peaks of y the Rila Mountains glitter far in the expanse. To the east, the Languages ridge of the Balkan Mountains is a wide, sloping pasture, and spoken the view quietly spreads further to Petrohan, Todorini dolls,

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the Vrachanski Balkan, Murgash and Vezhen. " From the top, wherever you look - north and south, east and west, amazing views are revealed. The southern slope of Kom is very suitable for skiing. In 1946, in early March, the first mass hike and gathering of the village of Kom. More than 250 skiers from Sofia via Petrohan and 53 from Berkovitsa met at the top. Each year, Kom begins the approach in honor of Bulgaria's liberation from Turkish slavery and ends in Vratsa. From Kom begins the traditional national one-month tourist approach to Emine Black Sea. From Berkovitsa to the top, along the roads mentioned above for the Koriite and Kom hut, it takes 5 hours. The road is marked. From Kom hut in 45 minutes to the saddle between Little and Middle Com and in another 45 minutes to reach Com. From Zdravica hut through Zido, the old road to Pirot, to the left of Mandarina Delenitsa and Momina Mogila village, through the vast Gypsy field, near the monument (erected by Berkiv tourists at the southern end of the rocky height at the lobby of the guerrilla Georgi Stoychev from the II Partisan Brigade) and east from Kamara you reach Kom (3 hrs). Road marked. From Petrohan to Kom it takes 3 hours by convenient and easy route. Com can be reached in 3 hours by leaving Komštica. The road runs straight north along the valley of the Visochitsa River, whose waters spring at the foot of Kom. The most beautiful view is revealed to the north of the summit, from which you can see Berkovo Field, Berkovitsa, as well as Montana and Ogosta Dam.

Tourist site Varshets Forest Park Description Ivanchova Polyana, Mariykina Polyana and Paradise Waterfall Category Nature are just a part of the forest park of Varshets.

GPS coordinates (Decimal The Ivanchova Polyana Eco Trail starts on the outskirts of degrees): Varshets, about 34 km from Montana. The walk takes about 43.169063, 23.278064 three hours, which take 6 km, and the transition is relatively easy. The eco-trail is well equipped for picnic and rest. The end of the eco trail leads to the waterfall area. The waterfall area is located above the Zanozhene neighborhood of Varshets. Above the waterfall there is a vast meadow overlooking the peaks of the Balkan Mountains and, more specifically, the Todorini Dolls peak. During the summer months, cool and unique views can be found there. The waterfall can be reached on foot or by car, and the

authenticity of the local people can be seen on foot, as there Contacts :

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are animal farms nearby, which provides authentic footage Location including people, local life and nature.

Phone The Paradise Waterfall, which is part of the Varshets Forest Email Park, is an extremely beautiful water cascade along the Orloshtica River. The area is wooded, with deciduous trees Website and is a great place for relaxation and picnicking.

Accessibilit y Languages spoken

Ecopath "Haidushki waterfalls" Tourist site - Berkovitza Description A picturesque eco trail that starts from the town of Berkovitsa Category Nature and moves exclusively along the river Golyama River. There is an old asphalt road near the waterfalls, suitable for cycling. GPS coordinates (Decimal "Hajdushki Falls" are several small waterfalls with a height of degrees): 2-3m. They are located in the beautiful valley of the Big River, located 9km from the town of Berkovitsa, where the waters of the rivers Tsenkova, Slivashka and Sredna Bara are collected. Near the waterfalls there are sites for viewing and photographs, a gazebo and campfires that are convenient for picnicking.

The length of the eco-trail is about 4: 30h, the highest elevation is 890m, and the maximum displacement is 340m.

Contacts :

Location Berkovitsa

Phone Email https://berkovit Website sa.online Accessibilit y Languages spoken

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Chiprovtsi Waterfall and Tourist site Ecopath "Deyanitsa" Description

Category Nature

GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): 43.357476, 22.816895

Chiprovtsi Waterfall - an extremely beautiful, 18 meters waterfall located in the land of Chiprovtsi. It can be reached by the eco-trail "Deyanitsa", which starts from an asphalted road at the end of the town. To find out where this asphalt road is, it is best to ask the locals.

The eco trail itself begins with a carriageway, gradually climbing into the forest and the Balkan. Signs have been placed at key locations indicating the direction of the waterfall. The transition to the waterfall takes about 1.30h in one direction and at its top the eco-path goes along the valley Contacts : of Stara reka and is quite steep. Location Chiprovtsi In the area there is a table and chairs made of tree trunks. Phone Email Website Accessibilit y Languages spoken

Tourist site Rural tourism Description Rural, wine, To touch the village, to feel the spirit of the ancestors and Category culinary tourism the authentic way of life in some beautiful Bulgarian villages, GPS coordinates (Decimal is much more than accommodation. There are no rural degrees): tourism opportunities in the Montana district. For example, in 43.360137, 23.105020 the village of Bistrilitsa, Berkovitsa municipality, where in the Old Bistrilitsa eco complex groups of about 50 people can enjoy a 120-year-old barn, 2 fireplaces, sports facilities and some small modern conveniences, while maintaining the

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authentic spirit of the times. Calmness under the porches of the house under the walnut, the house by the well and the old Bistrilitsa house. Picture The pearl house in the village of Gorno Tserovene, 10 km. from Montana offers an authentic interior that inspires nostalgia for ancient values, life and culture. It is on two floors and is located in a large and spacious yard with lots of greenery, trees and flowers. On the first floor there is a Contacts : tavern with a fully equipped kitchenette and a bathroom with Village of toilet. On the second floor there is a bedroom with a Bistrilitsa, bedroom, a room with two single beds and a room with two Location municipality of single beds and a bathroom with toilet. the spacious veranda Berkovitsa, offers magnificent views of the Balkan Mountains. district Montana In the courtyard - outdoor barbecue area and rustic oven +359 887 428 Phone suitable for cool summer evenings where anyone can fulfill 108 their culinary fantasies! For the guests to feel uneasy, the Email [email protected] house is offered completely on its own. http://bistrilitsa Dotsov Guest House in Barzia is a detached 3-storey house Website .art-ista.com with a spacious yard and a terrace. On the first floor there is Accessibilit a large dining room with a fully equipped kitchenette and y kitchenware, enabling guests to prepare their own meals. The house offers on the second floor 1 triple room and 2 double rooms. The third attic floor is separated in a studio with a bedroom and 2 single beds. All rooms have a private bathroom, TV and terrace. In Chiprovtsi you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of carpeting in a guest house Torlacite Languages The house offers three double rooms and a Renaissance style BG, EN spoken apartment with private baths, heating, hot water and electricity. In the tavern you can taste the colorful local cuisine. The house has a loom for weaving Chiprovtsi carpets, where every visitor can see how much labor and will it takes to weave a carpet.

Tourist site Lopushna Winery Description Rural, wine, Winery Lopushna offers boutique and selected wines - art Category culinary tourism sealed in a bottle. The name Lopushna is a guarantee of quality GPS coordinates (Decimal and taste. degrees): 43.385359, 23.026707 Lopushna Winery is located in the village of ,

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located in the Western Balkan Mountains. Being a unique nature is a very good prerequisite for the production of environmentally friendly wines.

Lopushna Winery is a successor to the Winery in the village of Georgi Damyanovo, built in 1936. Thirty years later, with the efforts and labor of miners from the Chiprovtsi mine, the construction of a rock tunnel on the territory of the winery Contacts : began. The tunnel is 47.5 m long and 4.5 m wide and allows Village of Georgi storage for aging and aging of 100 tonnes of wine. The year- Damyanovo, round maintained temperature is 12 ° C. Forced ventilation is Location district Montana built and the constant humidity required for the proper storage 1 “Seventeen” of high quality wines is maintained. street +359 879 808 Wine degustation in the winery is possible after advance Phone 068/ 0879 808 reservation on tel: 0879 808 068/0879 808 069. 069 valery.mitkov@g One of the symbols of the winery is the Karakachka red wine. Email mail.com It has a beautiful color - dark garnet. Smoked meat, liqueur https://lopoushn and walnut leaves are detect from elegant nose. Fine, medium Website a.com/ body with a melted finish with dried small berries. Wine should Accessibilit be drunk immediately. y Languages BG, EN spoken

Gushanski Folk Fair on Tourist site Ascension Day Description Event and The traditional folk festival "Gushanski Folk Fair on Ascension Category festival tourism Day” (or Spasovden) is held every year in the park of the village of . The event is organized by the Community Center GPS coordinates (Decimal "Development-1928", the village of Zamfirovo together with the degrees): Municipality of Berkovitsa and the Municipality of Zamfirovo. 43.300078, 23.245203 The holiday will be held without interruption from 2010. and gathers dance and amateur singers from all over the country for the purpose of promoting and preserving Bulgarian folklore.

A competent jury evaluates the performing groups, their artistic level of performance, their attractiveness and uniqueness in two categories: authentic and processed folklore. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded in each category. For the best performance, the hosts give a special Prize.

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With each passing year, the folklore holiday grows and becomes richer and more colorful. Saturday runs Saturday and Sunday, but performances start as early as Friday

An exhibition of local craftsmen, a culinary competition with themed gifts, a raffle with attractive prizes are all part of the accompanying events of the holiday. A delicious turban soup is prepared and anyone who wishes can taste it. Gushan and Contacts : Berkovsky brass music are traditionally participating in the Village of Location festival, as are Rhodope guides, Bulgarian and Serbian folklore Zamfirovo performers. The festival ends with an attractive fiery show. Phone +359 953/88927 [email protected] Email om http://www.ber Website kovitsa.bg Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Tourist site Komarevo Rock Festival Description Event and Category Komarevo Rock Festival is a very young initiative, initiated by festival tourism two ambitious Bulgarians - Tsveta and Bogdan Yordanov, who GPS coordinates (Decimal have been living in this crowded Berkovo village for several degrees): years and decide to organize a big rock festival here! 43.300078, 23.245203 The festival is organized for charity. The contractors do not charge fees for their participation, and the money raised is used to repair the village's library and community center. The aim is for the festival to continue to exist and give space for new and young groups from the region of Northwestern Bulgaria who do not have access to the big stage for one reason or another. Seven different groups took to the stage of Komarevo Rock Festivals in 2018 and kicked off a tradition - a free rock festival happening in northwestern Bulgaria, in a small and Contacts : crowded village where time has stopped and nothing is Komarevo happening. Location village, 36 Parva Young and old, babies and grandmothers fill the village during street the festival. The mission of the event is to make many new Phone people come to Komarevo and make the festival traditional. kotzeva77@abv. Email The festival is held in August! bg

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http://www.ko Website marevorockfest. com/ Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Ethno and rock music festival Tourist site Restart, Berkovitsa Description Event and Category festival tourism The Restart Festival of Applied Arts and Rock Music, GPS coordinates (Decimal Berkovitsa, takes place in August in the mountain town's degrees): urban garden. 43.237125, 23.124156 The festival is mainly aimed at children and this is a wonderful opportunity for all grandparents to spend together with their grandchildren part of the children's vacation in meaningful, creative and positive activities. Various interesting activities are organized within the festival, such as lessons in which children model with natural materials such as clay (or modeling dough) to develop sensors and allow children to touch nature. Clay is a fantastic material to work with as it warms to the touch and can change its flexibility and composition as it is molded. Creating different applications and panels, three-dimensional clay molds. Working with natural materials, develops fine motor skills in children, provokes and develops their creative skills. It Contacts : develops the aesthetic sense, enables them to feel like an Berkovitsa Town integral part of nature. Location Park You can also enroll in a workshop for various cards, sewing Phone +359 953/88927 notebooks and building individual covers. Familiarity with [email protected] various construction techniques. Development of mental Email om activity and creativity, improvement of logical thinking and http://www.ber creativity. Website kovitsa.bg Creative workshops for children are also being held at the Second Primary School “Hristo Smirnenski” in Berkovitsa. Accessibilit They also include glass painting and an architectural y workshop. Languages BG, EN spoken

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Montana International Folklore Tourist site Festival Description Event and Category festival tourism GPS coordinates (Decimal The Montana International Folklore Festival is organized by the degrees): - Bulgaria. It is dedicated to the Feast of 43.408568, 23.225466 the Holy Spirit, which is always on the Monday after Pentecost, ie. 51 days after Easter. In 2019 it is celebrated on June 17, and the thirteenth edition of the festival will be held from June 15 to June 20. Folklore ensembles for authentic and processed folklore from all countries can participate in the festival. Each group performs a program lasting 60 minutes (one solo concert), 30 minutes (at the opening of the festival), 10 minutes (in the Holy Spirit assembly concert - Montana feast), Contacts : 30 minutes (in concert with the dance) group of their hosts) Montana, and participate in the show. Location Zheravitsa Groups can perform their program with the accompaniment of Square an orchestra or a recording. Electronic music is also allowed. Phone +359 96 300 400 The groups carry the national flag of their country. nelly.vasileva@g The concerts take place on an outdoor stage at Montana's Email mail.com Central Square and neighboring villages. In case the weather is www.folk- bad, the performances are moved to the Montana Drama Website festival- Theater. montana.com The groups are obliged to send a completed application form according to the deadline set by the organizer. Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

Festival of songs, dances and traditional food and crafts in Tourist site Description Event and In the beginning of June the Folklore Festival "Festival of Category festival tourism Songs, Dances and Traditional Foods and Crafts in Borovtsi" GPS coordinates (Decimal takes place in the village of Borovtsi. The event is organized degrees): by the Razvitie-1927 NGO with the support of Berkovitsa 43.323459, 23.176876 Municipality and Borovtsi Municipality. It is made on the open

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stage on the square in the village of Borovtsi, and its main goals are to preserve, distribute, develop and present the diversity of Bulgarian folk art and crafts in their diversity, richness and color, to gather performers and lovers of Bulgarian folklore and traditional crafts. , to bring them together in a common expression and to achieve continuity across generations.

Contacts : The festival is non-competitive and through its holding it is Borovtsi, possible to express professional and non-professional groups Location Berkovitsa and performers. Along with the performances on the stage of municipality the forum will be presented traditional dishes prepared by Phone +359 953 88927 women in the village. The tasting exhibition will feature all [email protected] kinds of Banits typical of Borovtsi, as well as many other Email om dishes. The trademark of the hosts is a 'pumpkin pie' prepared http://www.ber with a fried pumpkin stuffing. Guests will also be able to taste Website kovitsa.bg boiled stuffed chicken on Borovsky as well as delicious Accessibilit strawberries grown in the village. A walk and tasting at the y winery will introduce visitors to a producer whose drinks have been repeatedly awarded at European forums. The attraction of the festival is a four-ton barrel, preserved in the oldest Languages BG, EN house of the village - the Manoil House, which was built in the spoken far 1896, and it houses the ojak, the housewares and the old clothes.

Tourist site Mineral baths, Varshets Description 1850 is considered to be the birth date of the Varshets resort, Category Spa and wellness when the caveman Dimitar Luchkov was cured with mineral water. In 1910, the first mineral bath in Bulgaria, today called GPS coordinates (Decimal the Old Mineral Bath, opened its doors in Varshets. It was built degrees): in the same way as the bathrooms in Baden-Baden. At present, 43.190747, 23.286037 the Old Bath is not functioning. The new mineral bath is functioning. It was built in 1930 by a project of arch. Radev with a total area of 732sq.m, and is in keeping with the style of the old bathroom. There are balconies for healing and a huge clock on the central facade. The roof is decorated in four corners with sculptures of small bathe boys, sitting huge slugs - symbols of rapid healing. Contacts : Images of nymphs - demigods represent the living forces of 90A Republic nature. In the immediate vicinity is the old mineral bath. Location Blvd. +359 9527 31-56 The water used in the bathroom is mineral, with a temperature Phone +359 879 299 of 36.4 degrees. Its composition and qualities are unique, it can 984 be used both for water procedures - for diseases of the central

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tic_varshets@ab and peripheral nervous system, diseases of the musculoskeletal Email v.bg system, and for drinking - for diseases of the digestive tract. www.varshets.b Prices are low, there are discounts for retirees. The baths are Website g also suitable for disabled people. There are regular visitors Accessibilit from Turkey. Varshets is the paradise on earth - one of the y most popular balneological towns in Bulgaria. Varshets' motto is "City of Health" and it is well deserved! Languages BG, EN spoken

Minkovi Bani Spa Center, Tourist site Spanchevtsi village Description

Category Spa and wellness Holiday complex Minkovi Bani Varshets is one of the few family hotels in Varshets which has 3 mineral water pools (for adults GPS coordinates (Decimal and children) and an indoor pool for the hotel. All three pools degrees): are equipped with their own water purification systems. 43.176384, 23.237387 The water from all mineral springs has low mineralization, alkaline, hydrocarbonate, sodium sulfate, low water hardness, clear, colorless and with pleasant drinking and taste qualities. Contains elements such as iron, lithium, barium, aluminum, strontium, phosphates, manganese, arsenic and more. It is suitable for internal use, for inhalation, for irrigation, for general prevention, strengthening and hardening of the body, physical and mental fatigue, etc.

Contacts : Spanchevtsi Water stimulates cell function and metabolism, has an anti- Location village, district inflammatory effect, improves nerve fiber regeneration. Montana According to specialists, it helps to treat diseases of the Phone +359 96 307 588 nervous and cardiovascular systems, gastrointestinal tract, Email [email protected] renal urological, gynecological and endocrine-metabolic diseases, as well as those of the musculoskeletal system. www.minkoviba Website Varshets Mineral Pools. ni.bg

Accessibilit The spa center also offers: sauna; steam bath; romantic jacuzzi y for two; warm relax booths; solarium; dry massage; Tango - Languages BG, EN water massage; laconium; spoken

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RESTAURANTS AND ACCOMMODATION PLACES IN VIDIN

Tourist site Ana Cristina Hotel Description The Anna-Christina Hotel opened its doors in 2005 and over Category Hotel the years it has become one of the symbols of the town of Vidin. It is surrounded by historical landmarks and the GPS coordinates (Decimal beautiful Danube park in a quiet and peaceful place. degrees): The Anna-Christina Hotel is an architectural monument of 43.9870765, 22.8807345 culture, bearing the spirit of the last century. The hotel offers 21 modernly equipped hotel rooms, a restaurant, a coffee bar, a lounge, a summer garden with a barbecue and an outdoor pool. Free Wi-Fi is available in the hotel. As an additional service, the hotel offers a boat ride in the Danube. At the same time 7-8 people can ride. The walk consists of exploring the city from the Bulgarian coastline, passing along the Danube park with a magnificent view of Contacts : the Baba Vida Fortress and passing under the New Europe 3700 Vidin Bridge. Location 2 Baba Vida street The outdoor pool, which has 60 sun loungers, is a small oasis for relaxation and a real break from the busy Phone +359 94 606 038 everyday life. Works every day from the hot months from office@annakristinah 10am. to 18h. Crystal clear water is maintained daily with Email otel.com high quality certified detergents as well as continuous https://annakristina operation of the treatment system of the pool itself. Website hotel.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage YES Assistance

Tourist site Bononia Hotel Description

Category Hotel, restaurant The Bononia Hotel Complex is located in the very central square, in the heart of the beautiful historic town of GPS coordinates (Decimal Vidin, just meters from the Danube River and in close degrees): proximity to the Danube Park. The excellent central 43.986036, 22.879085

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location of the complex allows quick and easy access to the administrative, cultural and commercial part of the city. The hotel is three stars, renovated in 2014. and has 31 double rooms with twin beds, 13 bedrooms, 3 VIP bedrooms, 2 suites and 1 VIP suite. The terraces of the hotel rooms offer views of the city's landmarks and the beautiful Danube River. At the disposal of the hotel guests are: parking with video surveillance, restaurant Contacts : with summer garden, lobby bar and retrobar "Havana 3700 Vidin Location Club". 2 Bdin street The restaurant at Hotel Bononia is the preferred venue Phone +359 94 60 60 31 for weddings and balls in Vidin. With a capacity of 150 seats, it is the largest restaurant in Vidin. The most hotel_bononia@abv. Email frequent visit is the winter garden of the restaurant, bg where it is arranged for a chef preparing Serbian cuisine. http://www.hotelbo Website nonia.net Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage yes Assistance

Tourist site Dunav Hotel Description Hotel Category restaurant The Dunav (Danube) Hotel is a three-star hotel in a convenient location in Vidin in a modern style combining GPS coordinates (Decimal comfort and modern design trends. The Danube Hotel is degrees): located in the center of Vidin. Its location is privileged 43.984087, 22.877272 and thanks to this it provides easy access for its visitors to the Krydunavsky Park and the administrative part of the city. The Danube Hotel is a typical business hotel, offering excellent conditions for accommodation, relaxation or business travel. The hotel is preferred for its pleasant environment, good hygiene, flexible pricing, convenient transport accessibility, friendly and friendly staff. Parking at the hotel is free of charge. The security of the hotel is ensured by video surveillance throughout the entire parking lot and in the hotel itself. Contacts : The interactive advertising and information system at the 3700 Vidin Danube Hotel offers quick access to customers and Location 3 Edelvais street visitors with internet and all useful information. Phone +359 94 600 174

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Email [email protected] http://www.hoteldu Website nav.eu Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage yes Assistance

Tourist site Rovno Hotel Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Hotel "Rovno" is located in a communicative and easily accessible from all entrance arteries of the city, in close GPS coordinates (Decimal proximity to both the Danube River and the cultural and degrees): historical sites. The hotel, which has always been one of 43.980735, 22.872978 the symbols of hospitality in Vidin, has been completely renovated and offers its customers all the comforts of a modern hotel and service at European level. The hotel offers magnificent panoramic views of the city center and the Danube.

The hotel has • 22 single rooms with spacious terraces • 12 double rooms with two single beds • 12 double bedrooms • 4 comfortable apartments • 6 luxury apartments

The hotel's restaurant offers a selection of fresh salads, entrees, grills, pastas and home-made desserts. Wines from the Vidin region and the Danube fish can be tasted here.

The stylish and sophisticated restaurant in Rivne is the Contacts : perfect place for organizing corporate celebrations, 3700 Vidin cocktails, weddings, student parties, proms, personal and Location 70 Tsar Aleksandar II professional holidays. The capacity of the restaurant is street 120 seats. Phone +359 94 690 990 Email [email protected] The hotel has an outdoor pool, fitness center and casino, as well as a spacious seminar room with a capacity of 50 www.hotelrovno.co Website seats. m

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Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage yes Assistance

Tourist site Avramov Hotel Description

Category Hotel, restaurant The Avramov Hotel is located at the entrance artery of Vidin, 50 meters from the Danube River and 500 meters GPS coordinates (Decimal from the administrative center. The hotel is new degrees): construction. Designed and implemented with all possible 43.980764, 22.873831 modern technologies, combining the best traditions of the hotel business.

Apartments and rooms, all furnished with a fine and elegant taste, guarantee guests a homey cozy and harmonious atmosphere.

The modern conveniences in the hotel rooms and apartments of Avramov Hotel make them ideal for rest and relaxation in the town of Vidin.

Contacts : The premises are designed and furnished to ensure 3700 Vidin maximum comfort. Location 63 Tsar Alexander II street The hotel offers a restaurant with a capacity of 40 seats, +359 94 606680; Phone located on two levels, which can also be used for a seminar 0885 287766 room. hotel_avramov@mail Email .bg It is suitable for celebrations, presentations and gatherings http://www.hotelavr on various occasions. Flipchart, multimedia, multimedia Website amovvidin.com screen, plasma TV with laptop input are available.

Accessibilit The kitchen is well liked and appreciated. Offers Danube y fish and gullfish. The desserts are their own production Languages BG, EN with excellent taste and aesthetic qualities. Special menus spoken are being developed for the holidays. Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Restaurant “Dunava” Description

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The most famous and loved restaurant in Vidin is Category Hotel, restaurant undoubtedly the 'Fish & Grill' Danube, better known as the 'boat'! The place is cozy and the guests feel good, thanks to GPS coordinates (Decimal the love and diligence and positive attitude that the degrees): owners put in. Delicate culinary temptations can be 43.984917, 22.879966 experienced here in the serene atmosphere on the banks of the Danube. The restaurant's history began in January 2013, when two ambitious friends and classmates decided to restore the glamor and reputation of the fish restaurant 'Shlepa', which had been lost over the years. After a complete change of vision, cuisine, menu and staff, in April 2013, Fish & Grill ´Danava opened its doors with a brand new and motivated crew on board! In May 2014, the second Dunava BBQ took place, again on a river pontoon. The 'Fish & Grill' Dunava restaurant brings a sense of coziness, romance and timelessness. Whatever table you sit at the restaurant, you will enjoy the magnificent view. The best are the sunrises and sunsets over the river, the full moon of the evening, the swaying waves of passing Contacts : ships, and the lights of the newly constructed New Europe 3700 Vidin Bridge. Location Danube River, Customers who have visited us once will always come back. Danube Park The combination of a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere, Phone +359 889 088 673 impeccable service, delicious and healthy cuisine are invaluable! Email [email protected] At the restaurant you can expect: • quality and individual attitude to each client; Website https://dunava.bg • Striving to serve delicious and healthy foods prepared to Accessibilit the highest standards. y • Always fresh and varied fish from the Danube Languages • Wines and brandy, mainly from the region BG, EN spoken • Desserts - self-made Luggage 'Fish & Grill' Danube Restaurant is that special place in NO Assistance Vidin where every one of your senses will celebrate!

Tourist site Bar & Dinner Puerto 77 Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Awarded for Best Fish Restaurant in 2013, the Puerto 77 Restaurant is located on the banks of the Danube in the GPS coordinates (Decimal Vidin River Station. degrees): For more than 6 years, it has been offering the greatest 43.983140, 22.876790

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variety of fish, the finest of fish specialties, seafood, pizza, meat and vegetarian dishes caressing the senses. Puerto 77 has become a well-established brand for people who appreciate good cuisine. The wines, which are an integral part of a good menu, are specially selected and are of excellent quality. The restaurant is located on the second floor of the Vidin River Station and has a beautiful terrace offering breathtaking views of the river and the New Europe Bridge. Contacts : The restaurant has two halls. The Puerto Hall impresses with 3700 Vidin, River a combination of leather and wooden elements and has a Location Port, Dunavska capacity of 40 seats, which makes it a suitable place for street business events. The second, Lyons, has 45 seats, a Phone 0876 389 200 sophisticated atmosphere with magnificent storefront windows overlooking the river, often a centerpiece for a Email sophisticated luxury celebration. https://www.facebo Every Friday and Saturday nights, the restaurant guests ok.com/Bar-Dinner- Website enjoy great band music. Puerto-77- Free delivery of food for home within Vidin 246157638841165/ Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage No Assistance

Tourist site Pizza Classic Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Pizzeria Classic is a restaurant with a capacity of 110 seats. It offers an excellent menu of pizza and pasta as well as GPS coordinates (Decimal international cuisine. The service is always of a high degrees): standard with a careful attitude towards the customer. 43.983140, 22.876790 Classic is a favorite spot of Vidinians for lunch or dinner. The same chain offers close proximity to the Vision Confectionery, the Classic Restaurant on the second floor, as well as two summer establishments in the park - the classic Telegraph and the Paradise Bistro.

Contacts :

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3700 Vidin Location 14 Serdika street 0898 658598, 0878 Phone 656402 Email http://zavedeniavidi Website n.com/ Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage No Assistance

Hotel Skalite, Tourist site Belogradchik Description Category Hotel, restaurant GPS coordinates (Decimal The Skalite Hotel Complex is located in the central part degrees): of Belogradchik 210 km. northwest of Sofia, on the 43.625079, 22.686861 international road E79. The town is picturesquely situated in the western part of the Balkan Mountains, at the southwestern foot of the Belogradchik wreath.

The hotel has all the amenities you need for a vacation or a business weekend.

The complex has a capacity of 81 beds.

Hotel "Skalite" has a classic restaurant with banquet hall,

Contacts : night club, winter and summer garden and panoramic bar 3900 Belogradchik, with a unique view of the unique Belogradchik rocks. Location Vazrazhdane Square 2 There are 2 conference rooms available for guests: large and small, for seminars, conferences, corporate events Phone +359 884 51 41 54 and more. Email [email protected] There is a shop, a beauty salon and a branch of DSK Bank. Website http://skalite.bg Accessibilit The hotel's SPA center offers you an indoor swimming y pool, jacuzzi, gym, sauna, steam room and various SPA Languages treatments. BG, EN spoken Luggage yes Assistance

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Tourist site Family Hotel The Rocks Description

Category Hotel, restaurant

GPS coordinates (Decimal Located in the town of Belogradchik, close to its center degrees): with shops and restaurants, Family Hotel Skalite offers 43.625750, 22.687904 accommodation with cable TV, free Wi-Fi in all areas and bicycle rental.

All accommodation units have a private bathroom. Some rooms are air-conditioned. The apartment also has a balcony, a seating area and a functionally equipped kitchenette.

There is also a restaurant with a terrace on site serving Bulgarian dishes and grilled specialties. The reception is open 24 hours a day. Contacts : 3900 Belogradchik The Belogradchik Rocks are 1 km away. There is a bus stop Location 1 Hadji Dimitar right next to the hotel. Free public parking is possible on street site. Phone +359 898733818 Email https://belogradchik Website .bg Accessibilit y Languages BG spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Guest Houses, Tourist site Belogradchik Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Belogradchik is a relatively small settlement, but with huge potential for tourism development due to the magnificent GPS coordinates (Decimal natural surroundings surrounding the city. degrees):

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There are 1 four-star hotel in the city and many guest houses or small hotels. Full information about the accommodation base in Belogradchik, as well as in the surrounding villages such as Izvos, Stakevtsi, Dabravka and others can be found in the Tourist Information Center of the municipality. Usually, guest houses do not offer breakfast, sending you to the center where you can have breakfast at one of the fast food establishments. Accommodation rates are relatively low - between 15 and 30lv per bed. The guest houses and apartments offered have a total capacity of about 330 beds, which makes it possible to organize relatively large events in the city.

Contacts : Tourist Information Location Center – Belogradchick Phone +359 877 881 283 tourism@belogradchi Email k.bg http://belogradchik. Website bg Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Restaurant Pri Ivan Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Ivan is the most beloved restaurant in Belogradchik, created professionally, with a big swing, impeccable GPS coordinates (Decimal reputation and special attitude to the customer. Ivan degrees): Rancic is actually a Serb and the focus on the menu is 43.625535, 22.691222

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Serbian cuisine. The love for Belogradchik and the desire for more tourists to discover the hidden treasures and beauties of the area are pushing the restaurant team towards the idea of opening a dining place in Northwestern Bulgaria, which would be a symbol of Contacts : hospitality in the Balkans.

3900 Belogradchik Location Ivan is the chef who creates delicious food here and puts 3 Yuri Gagarin street all his heart and craft into it, inspired by his native Phone +359 879 20 77 12 Serbia. reservation@priivan. Email com The secret ingredient is love and attention to every single detail of the overall restaurant experience. The magic http://www.priivan. Website happens when you feel the aroma that comes from the com kitchen… it also convinced us that it is worth making Accessibilit Belogradchik a tastier and preferred place to eat in the y Northwest! Languages BG, EN, сръбски spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Restaurant Mislen Kamak Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Think Stone Restaurant is the largest restaurant in Belogradchik. Its inner hall holds about 150 guests and GPS coordinates (Decimal the outside has a stepped terrace, which can seat about degrees): 70 customers. The view from the terrace is amazing. A 43.623329, 22.689111 huge part of the Belogradchik Rocks reveals itself before your eyes. It is this view that makes the restaurant as popular with the locals of Belogradchik as it is with numerous tourists. The kitchen is European and traditional Bulgarian. Here they cook delicious and at good prices. There is an interesting rock in the parking lot in front of the restaurant called the Thought Stone. This is where the name of the restaurant comes from.

Contacts : 3900 Belogradchik Location Alley "Mislen Kamak" +359 879830200; Phone +359 879830207 Email

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Website

Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Madonna Inn, Falkovets Tourist site village Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Han Madonna Falkovec is a family business. Their start in the field of services dates back to 1994 when they started GPS coordinates (Decimal building a guest house in Belogradchik. In January 2009, degrees): they complete their second facility, namely the Madonna 43.597780, 22.779878 Falkovets Khan. That's how this cozy complex comes into play. The owners treat each guest as a friend. Mr Mladenov is well aware of the surrounding area. If your stay is longer, it will show you places you didn't suspect existed. Mrs. Mladenova, in addition to her delicious meals, will entice you with stories of half-forgotten legends and legends. Mr. Mladenov Jr. is aware of the history of the city and the region and will fill you with curious facts about this or that. In this way, the guests of Khan Madonna Falkovets become friends with the owners and come again. Just once in this Contacts : magical place is not enough. Falkovets the main Location road Belogradchik - In the 7 decare yard of the Madonna Falkovets inn there is Ruzhintsi a convenient infrastructure for accommodating guests with Phone +359 894774746 caravans. [email protected] You will have a great opportunity to practice alternative, Email m hiking, biking and cave tourism, mountaineering, hunting and fishing, sports, kayaking and rafting. Starting point for www.hanmadona.co Website visits to the Belogradchik Rocks, Kaleto Fortress, Magura m Cave, Baba Vida Fortress and numerous monasteries in Accessibilit northwestern Bulgaria. y Languages BG, Turlak - specific spoken local speech Luggage NO Assistance

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Tourist site Magura Complex, Rabisha Description

Category Hotel, restaurant The complex was opened on December 11, 2015. It has 20 rooms, five bungalows, a summer and hotel restaurant, GPS coordinates (Decimal an outdoor swimming pool and magnificent views. They degrees): will always welcome you here with a smile and take care 43.724983, 22.588766 of your good mood. The capacity of the restaurant is 100 seats, and the newly built spa complex will surprise you with a modern version of the sauna and steam bath and jacuzzi with a unique view at the Balkan. The massage room offers relaxing and invigorating massages and therapies for the body and mind. The complex is developing at a rapid pace. There is Contacts : already a children's playground and a separate camping Rabisha, near Magura area. The seminar room in the attic space of the hotel Location Cave can accommodate 40-50 participants in events. Mountain bike, fishing and surfing rentals are also Phone +359 878 485 495 available for use in Rabishko Lake, which is 1.5km away complex_magura@ab from the complex, and the proximity of Magura Cave also Email v.bg provides an opportunity for passing tourists to organize a www.complexmagur delicious lunch. Website a.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN, FR, DE, RO spoken Luggage YES Assistance

Tourist site Hotel Izvor Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Izvor Hotel - Restaurant is a newly opened hotel, built under the Rural Development Program and executed in a GPS coordinates (Decimal flawless manner with great desire and high quality. degrees):

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It is located 300 meters from the Izvor Monastery, which can be reached via an eco trail among oak forests. The hotel is three star, has a large outdoor pool and a very cozy restaurant. It is suitable for organizing family celebrations and banquets. The hotel also has sports fields for football. This hotel is the perfect place for nature lovers and short walks along forest trails.

Contacts : Near the Izvorski Location Monastery, Municipality Phone +359 88 830 5239 Email

Website

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1. Hotels; 2. Bars; 3. Restaurants; The following information must be provided for each site: - Name of the site; - Location, GPS coordinates, Location, contacts, phone, email, website; - Description of the site. Short information (max 1/2 page or 900 characters) - Degree of accessibility for the elderly - Photos - Staff information - Languages spoken - Luggage assistance

RESTAURANTS AND ACCOMMODATION PLACES IN MONTANA:

Tourist site Park-hotel Zhitomir Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Located in Montana, Park Hotel Zhitomyr offers a bar. It

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GPS coordinates (Decimal has a fitness center, sauna, solarium, massage, Chinese degrees): Restaurant, Serbian Restaurant, Bulgarian Restaurant. 43.409034, 23.224039 This 2-star hotel has a garden and offers air-conditioned rooms with free Wi-Fi, each with a private bathroom.

All rooms at the hotel have a balcony.

Guests at the Park Hotel Zhitomyr have a terrace.

The reception staff speaks English, German, Greek and Russian and is available 24/7. Contacts :

Location Zheravitsa Square 1 This accommodation has one of the best rated locations in Montana! +359 96 306 176; Phone +359 884 836 064 park.hotel.jitomir@g Email mail.com

Website

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Tourist site Hotel Ogosta Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Located in the heart of downtown Montana, the Ogosta Hotel provides the perfect opportunity for relaxation and GPS coordinates (Decimal contact. The hotel has eighteen beds and two suites. degrees): There is also a bar in the hotel lobby. 43.408642, 23.227708

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Each room is equipped with mini bar, TV, Phone , bathtub, wireless internet, terrace and air conditioning. Along with the varied and quality cuisine, a wide range of alcoholic drinks and cocktails, the restaurant combines extremely high quality service. The hotel's restaurant has forty-five seats. Separately in the summer is at your disposal a summer terrace with 20 seats. The hotel also has an equipped conference room. The hotel is located next to the city park and all kinds of institutions and banks. It has a secure parking lot.

There are many delicious suggestions that the restaurant will give you. It enjoys an elegant setting and excellent service. Served here, as well as in the day bar, are only high quality drinks. Business guests can also count on an equipped conference room to host their business and corporate events. You can also try your luck at the casino. Contacts : 3400 Montana Location 1 Peyo Yavorov Street Phone +359 96/306310 Email [email protected]

Website

Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Hotel Europe Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Hotel Europe, Montana has 34 beds available. Hotel Europe consists of a coffee shop and a hotel section. GPS coordinates (Decimal Located in the heart of downtown Montana, close to degrees): government offices, banks, offices, and private 43.405541, 23.223699

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companies. Travelers from Sofia and the country through the Petrohan Pass and through Vratsa arrive at the complex along the entrance boulevard Al. Stamboliiski. The hotel has 13 rooms and one suite.

Contacts : 3400 Montana Location 120 March 3rd Blvd. Phone +359 96 307 100 Email https://evropa- Website augusta.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site SAC Augusta Description SAK Augusta is the largest entertainment facility in Category Hotel, restaurant Northwestern Bulgaria. The complex is located on the wall of Ogosta Dam, 2 km from downtown Montana in a westerly GPS coordinates (Decimal direction. degrees): The complex has swimming pools, two-speed water slide, 43.390178, 23.215508 bungee, VIP - places for relaxation, beach bars, summer and winter restaurant, German beer house. The hotel part consists of 6 villas overlooking the Balkan Mountains - VIP apartment, 15 rooms with 2 beds each with private bathroom, air conditioning and heating. SAK Augusta has: - summer restaurant with 150 seats, winter restaurant with 50 seats indoors and 100 outdoors, beach bars, beer house, two-speed water slide, swimming pool, 2 VIP swimming pools, 2 hot tubs with treatment plant and hot water, Contacts :

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3400 Montana beach volleyball court, playground for beach soccer, Location Ogosta Dam basketball court, tennis court, children's playground with pool, swings, slides, secure parking Phone 096 30 75 25 SAK Augusta organizes tent camps, competitions, discos, Email family celebrations, sports competitions, shows and more. https://evropa- Website augusta.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Family Hotel RING Description

Category Hotel, restaurant RING Hotel, Montana has 26 beds in total. The RING Hotel is located on the shores of Ogosta Dam, offering the GPS coordinates (Decimal tranquility, clean air and beauty of the natural scenery, degrees): although the hotel is only 2000 meters from the 43.389235, 23.216635 administrative center of Montana. The hotel offers an exceptional view, over the waters of the Ogosta Dam you can see the entire northwestern part of the Balkan Mountains, the peaks Kom, Kopren, Mizhur and the Vrachanski Balkan. Less than an hour away are the natural phenomena of Belogradchik Rocks, Magura Caves and Ledenika. The hotel has a restaurant, a panoramic bar and a fitness center. We offer free cable and wireless internet on site. People with disabilities have access to the restaurant, bar, hotel part and have specialized toilets. Contacts : 3400 Montana Location Ogosta Dam Phone +359 96 588 861 reception@ring- Email hotel.com https://www.ring- Website hotel.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken

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Luggage YES Assistance

Tourist site Hotel Vesta Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Hotel Vesta has been operating since January 2008. It is GPS coordinates (Decimal located in a quiet, peaceful and communicative place in degrees): the center of Montana, right next to the lake of 43.408643, 23.219626 Montanenzium Park. It is suitable for business trips and vacations throughout the year.

The Vesta Hotel has central air conditioning and an elevator. It has 15 double rooms and 1 apartment. The rooms have a minibar, cable TV, direct dial Phone and free Wi-Fi.

The restaurant of the Hotel Vesta has an elegant classic style and has 35 seats.

Contacts : The modern and cozy atmosphere of Vesta Hotel, the 3400 Montana calmness and the perfect service will make you feel real Location 10 Tsar Samueil pleasure. Street +359 96 305 720; Phone The restaurant of Hotel Vesta has 35 seats. The interior is +359 879 816 934; classic in style. office@hotel- Email vesta.bg The professional kitchen has the most modern and https://hotel- functional equipment. The menu includes dishes from Website vesta.bg/ traditional Bulgarian and European cuisine. The restaurant also offers an original lunch menu at attractive Accessibilit prices. The variety of dishes and desserts prepared by y excellent professionals will satisfy even the most Languages BG, EN discerning visitors. The restaurant also offers catering spoken services, cocktail parties, business meetings and family celebrations. Luggage NO Assistance Restaurant reservations can be made by calling 096 305720 Tourist site Hotel Montana Description

Category Hotel , restaurant Montana Hotel is located 2 minutes from the city center. GPS coordinates (Decimal The attractive location of the hotel offers the opportunity degrees): for relaxation, business meetings, corporate and family 43.412059 / 23.226571

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celebrations.

We offer our guests a cozy and modern setting, each room has a minibar, internet, digital TV, air conditioning and a balcony.

The restaurant offers a rich menu of traditional cuisine and desserts. Our professional experience is a guarantee for high quality food. Contacts : The good service, the perfect arrangement, the coziness Montana, Third Location of the cool and exotic summer garden and many other March 120 Blvd. things made it a preferred venue for weddings, Phone +359 96 300 404 christenings, balls, banquets and other such events. hotel_montana3400@ Email abv.bg https://www.hotelm Website ontana.bg/ Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Hotel Moscow Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Moscow Hotel ** is a remarkable family hotel located in the GPS coordinates (Decimal heart of Lom. The hotel offers a wide range of basic degrees): services and additional amenities to ensure optimal 43.827620, 23.236219 comfort and personal attention to each guest. The friendly hotel staff is available to its guests 24 hours a day to make their stay complete and enjoyable. The Hotel Moscow restaurant is the perfect place for lunch or dinner in Lom. You will enjoy good service and a cozy atmosphere here. Monday through Friday, the restaurant offers a variety of low-cost lunch menus. Restaurant Moscow offers organization of balls, friends meetings, family and company parties. The capacity of the restaurant is 100/110 / seats. On Fridays and Saturdays, as well as on public holidays, the restaurant has live music that Contacts :

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3600 Lom predisposes customers to an unforgettable evening. Location 16 Dunavska street Phone +359 879 124 710 Email info@moskva-bg http://www.moskva- Website bg.com/ Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Hotel Danube, Lom Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Hotel-restaurant Danube is located in the town of Lom on GPS coordinates (Decimal the bank of the Danube and near the city center. degrees): The hotel is a great place for relaxation, business meetings 43.831666, 23.233196 and tourism in general. It is easily accessible for people with disabilities. We have a bed capacity of 62 beds. Price range: 30 BGN - 52 BGN per bed for renting the whole room. Hotel-restaurant Danube offers its guests a cozy atmosphere, cleanliness and professional service. The hotel is a wonderful place for recreation, business and tourism (Danube beach, Dobridol monastery, Lopushan monastery, Klisura monastery.), Wonderful places for Contacts : hunting tourism, organizing wine tourism together with 3600 Lom Location Vinprom Rousse, an opportunity to taste the miraculous Nechaev Square 1 wine elixirs of the region. +359 97160049, +359 The restaurant is a good place to organize family holidays, Phone 895460574 official celebrations, business meetings and cocktails. https://www.facebo Connoisseurs of fine cuisine can enjoy a wide selection of Email ok.com/profile.php?i dishes and well-selected wines and drinks. d=100003290211645 For its guests Hotel Dunav offers:  parking Website www.hoteldunav.net  restaurant  security Accessibilit  sauna y  safe Languages BG, EN  Jacuzzi spoken

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 room service  conference room  lobby bar  massage studio  TV  kitchen  cable tv  air conditioning  heating  refrigerator  mini bar  Phone Luggage NO  Internet Assistance  bathroom  washing machine  terrace  view  indoor swimming pool  Iron  hair dryer  laundry  Ironing  business services  pool bar  access for the disabled

Tourist site Hotel Gelov, Berkovitsa Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Hotel Gelov, Berkovitsa has 55 beds in total.

GPS coordinates (Decimal Price range: 13 BGN - 20 BGN per bed degrees): Here is an ideal, quiet place for families with children to 43.235948, 23.128527 rest. Located near the center of Berkovitsa. The hotel has a restaurant with 60 seats, which organizes holiday cocktails and dinners. All rooms are modernly furnished and have TV and mobile internet access. The 4-storey Gelov Family Hotel is equipped with a state- of-the-art sauna, double jacuzzi and gym. In Berkovitsa, the air is extremely clean, and for winter sports lovers the ski slope is a 40-minute drive from the hotel. On the 5th floor of the hotel there is a panoramic bar-terrace overlooking the Kaleto area, Todorini Kukli peak, Kom peak, Zdravchenitsa peak and the Cut rocks of the Contacts :

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3500 Berkovitsa Vrachanski Balkan. Location 28 Alexandrovska For mountain lovers, the hotel offers the following fun Street and adventures: Phone +359 877835728  Mountain crossing with a high-pass car, with a route: Zdravchitsa hut - Peak Kom - Petrohan hut; Email [email protected]  Picnic in the mountains, at the foot of Mount Kom http://www.hotelgel Website (on the Gazebo); ov.com/  Visit and excursion to the Hajdushki Falls; Accessibilit  Walk to the old Roman fortress "Kaleto" and its y adjacent park. Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Hotel-restaurant “Vodenitsata”(The Tourist site Watermil), Berkovitsa Description

Category Hotel, restaurant The Vodenitsa hotel-restaurant is located in the town of Berkovitsa on 1 Pirotski Road Str. GPS coordinates (Decimal The hotel part of the complex has 26 beds, eight double degrees): rooms, two triple rooms and two studios. 43.240099, 23.126480 Children under 12 years stay free of charge. A sauna is included in the hotel's services. The Vodenitsa Hotel, Berkovitsa has 26 beds available. Price range: 15 BGN - 20 BGN per bed The Vodenitsa Hotel-Restaurant is located at the foot of the historic Kaleto Hill in Berkovitsa, and in the immediate vicinity runs the Berkovitsa River.

Contacts : The hotel has 2 floors, with 6 rooms on each floor. The restaurant has an interesting architecture, it has a large 3500 Berkovitsa Location summer garden with a terrace and barbecue. 1 Pirotski pat street Guests of the hotel have the opportunity to visit the sights Phone +359 897992118 of the city, to take a walk in the fresh air in the nature, and fans of winter sports could take advantage of the ski Email slope under the peak Kom. https://www.vodeni For more information on the landmarks and festivals that Website cata.eu/ take place, you can visit the city's website. Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

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Tourist site Hotel Krasteva House Description

Category Hotel , restaurant A small family-run hotel, following the Renaissance spirit of the Krusteva Kashta Restaurant - a monument of GPS coordinates (Decimal culture. The hotel has 2 single rooms, 8 double rooms and degrees): 5 studios, as well as a room for disadvantaged people. For 43.239373, 23.127997 your convenience and enjoyment we have a lobby bar, a conference room for 30 people, a sauna, a steam bath and a hot tub for two.

Contacts : 3500 Berkovitsa Location 5 Sheinovo street Phone +359 88 9516-044 krasteva_kashta@abv Email .bg https://krastevakash Website ta.com Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Hotel Demetra Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Here, at the Hotel Demetra Berkovitsa, you will be welcomed warmly and in a cozy atmosphere, with a cup GPS coordinates (Decimal of aromatic coffee and herbal tea, providing peace and degrees): quiet for your vacation or business meeting. 43.232864, 23.132699

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Be a guest of Demeter and experience the grandeur of the Berkovski Balkan, the atmosphere of an old small mountain town tucked away at the foot of the Balkan Mountains at Mount Peak, the pristine nature, the scent of raspberry and the song of birds. The air here is clean, the nature is beautiful, and the mountain magically lures avid tourists. The days go by quietly. The food is varied and typical of the area. People are always smiling, true Balkan people with wide hearts and a patriotic spirit.

Demetra Berkovitsa Hotel opens its doors in 2011. The hotel has 9 double rooms, 3 apartments and 1 studio. Each room is modern and comfortably furnished and has all the necessary amenities. Two of the rooms have twin beds and the rest with spacious bedrooms.

Contacts : The guests have at their disposal a cozy dining room, 3500 Berkovitsa where with our assistance you can organize your own Location 6-8, Vladimir Zaimov private holiday or corporate event. street +359 884 430292 Phone The hotel offers: +359 888 579104 • Sauna - for a fee; Email [email protected] • Transfer - from and to Sofia Airport; http://hotel- • Excursions - for groups of more than 10 people; Website demetra.com/  • Long-term accommodation - individual approach to each guest. Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage NO Assistance

Tourist site Spa Hotel ATA, Varshets Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Spa Hotel ATA is located in Varshets, which is located at the foot of the Balkan Mountains. The city is rich in GPS coordinates (Decimal mineral springs with healing waters that fill the hotel's degrees): outdoor pool and indoor pools. The temperature of the 43.186554, 23.281372

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mineral water is about 38 ° C and is used to treat a number of diseases.

Hotel description: Due to its sophisticated design and high standard of functionality, ATA Spa Hotel offers its guests a full range of spa services. The hotel has a classic restaurant with 90 seats in a pleasant atmosphere, summer town with 50 seats, lobby bar, piano bar and aqua bar, conference Contacts : room with 50 seats and a meeting room. 3540 Varshets Location 1 Dr. Konstantin Room description: Penev street The hotel has 3 luxury apartments, 10 double rooms Phone +359 882 099900 with bedrooms and 30 rooms with two beds. Email [email protected] The apartments have a jacuzzi, air conditioning, Wi-Fi internet, cable TV, bar, balcony, Phone and extra bed. Website https://ata-spa.bg/ The luxury rooms have double bedrooms - air conditioning, Wi - Fi internet access, cable TV, mini bar, Accessibilit balcony, Phone and extra bed. y Languages Sports / Entertainment: BG, EN spoken The spa at the hotel offers its clients a variety of services: - hydromineral therapies - classic and therapeutic massages - facial cosmetic procedures - body therapies and rituals Luggage YES - electro-aesthetics for the body Assistance - Reforming body therapies - harmony therapies - physiotherapy procedures - relax zone (sauna, mineral pool, steam bath, fitness, hot loungers)

Tourist site Hotel Medicus, Varshets Description

Category Hotel, restaurant Medicus Hotel offers comprehensive services related to health, beauty and fitness. Massages are one of the small GPS coordinates (Decimal pleasures that can dramatically change your day and your degrees): mood. Do not deprive yourself of these moments of 43.190535, 23.283459

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complete relaxation.

The mineral water from the six springs and wells, with an average temperature of 37oC is clear, colorless and with pleasant drinking taste. It treats diseases of the nervous system, of the heart and blood vessels, of the musculoskeletal system, of the endocrine glands, and others. Especially favorable is the impact of the resort on the neuroses - the diseases of our time. The green wreath Contacts : of the Balkans, the pine park, the aroma of thousands of 3540 Varshets roses, the coolness of the air, the soft greenery of the Location 87 Republic Street lawns calm the nervous system, eliminate fatigue and quickly restore normal blood pressure. Phone +359 879 50 54 74 reception@hotelmedi The hotel's wellness area includes: Email cus.com • Mineral water pools, • Jacuzzi with mineral water, Website https://medicus.bg/ • Saunas, • Steam bath, Accessibilit • Relax Zone and Adventure Shower y • fitness Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage YES Assistance

Hotel Sunny Garden, Tourist site Varshets Description

Category Hotel , restaurant The Sunny Garden Spa Hotel, Varshets has 98 beds available. GPS coordinates (Decimal Price range: 30 BGN - 51 BGN per bed degrees): The Sunny Garden Spa Hotel is located in the heart of 43.192389, 23.285658 Varshets, close to Sunny Garden Park. Unique spa therapies and impeccable service make it a preferred destination for relaxation and recovery. The complex has an outdoor and indoor pool and a large spa center where you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of unforgettable spa experiences. The hotel offers accommodation in modern and sophisticated rooms and suites that are suitable for both business and complete relaxation. Beautiful views of the Balkans and Sunny Garden Park add to the sense of Contacts :

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3540 Varshets comfort and comfort. The delicious sweets and cakes that Location 6 Bulgaria Blvd. you can try at the Vienna Salon will take you to the country of sophisticated whims. The restaurant menu is Phone +359 882 743 000 specially selected to satisfy even the most moody taste. hotel@sunnygarden- Email spa.com http://www.sunnyga Website rden-spa.com/ Accessibilit y Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage YES Assistance

Tourist site Grill Stalin Description

Category Hotel , restaurant Grill "Stalin" is enough to nail you on the spot on the way to Klisura Monastery, and the specialty is trout, which GPS coordinates (Decimal degrees): swim in two pools in front of the masses. You can also 43.195650, 23.197042 specify which one you would like to find on the grill. The other advantage of the restaurant is that its menu is laconic, there are only a few salads - the usual but wonderfully prepared. One more thing - here's the place to get your laptop ... When else will you be able to connect to the world via the Stalin Internet?

This is the place where you can enjoy the delicious Balkan barbecue and combined with the peace and quiet that the complex offers - rooms and apartments that are suitable for both business and complete relaxation. Contacts : Beautiful views of the Balkans and Sunny Garden Park add Between Varshets to the sense of comfort and comfort. The delicious sweets and Berkovitsa at the Location and cakes that you can try at the Vienna Salon will take road for Klisura you to the country of sophisticated whims. The restaurant Monastery menu is specially selected to satisfy even the most moody Telefon +359 898 74 70 80 taste. Email http://iskamdaqm.b Website g

Accessibility

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Languages BG, EN spoken Luggage YES Assistance

1. Hotels; 2. Bars; 3. Restaurants; The following information must be provided for each site: - Name of the site; - Location, GPS coordinates, Location, contact person, wire, email, website; - Description of the site. Short information (max 1/2 page or 900 characters) - Degree of accessibility for the elderly - Photos - Staff information - Languages spoken - Luggage Assistance

Bibliography: 1. https://www.age-platform.eu/special-briefing/international-tourism-grows-what-about- senior-tourism 2. https://www.strannik.bg 3. https://severozapazenabg.com 4. https://www.standartnews.com 5. https://opoznai.bg 6. https://pochivka.bg 7. https://bg-radio.org/vidin/ 8. www.vidin.bg 9. https://belogradchik.bg/ 10. http://chuprene.com/ 11. http://oalom.acstre.com/ 12. http://www.montana.bg/ 13. https://www.varshets.bg/ 14. https://www.berkovitsa.bg

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