| Bulgaria |
| Principal Locations |
Lovech, Bulgaria
  Lovech (in Bulgarian: Ловеч) is a small town in north-central Bulgaria with a population about 50 000 citizens. Lovech is the administrative centre of the Lovech region (oblast) and Lovech municipality , 150 km from the capital Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of Pleven, Troyan and Teteven.
GeographyLovech is situated in the Fore-Balkan area, on both sides of the river Ossam and unifies both mountain and plain relief. The eastern part of the town is surrounded by a 250 m high plateau, where the biggest park in Lovech, "Stratesh", is located, and the south-western part is surrounded by the hills "Hisarya" and "Bash Bunar". In northwest the relief lightly goes to the plains of the neighbouring Pleven region. The average altitude of Lovech is about 200 m above mean sea level. The highest point of the town is the hill "Akbair" at 450 m. Lovech has a beautiful location, with many parks and places to rest. In the park "Stratesh", the highest place in the town, there are a great number of lilac bushes, easily seen from the whole town, which is a wonderful view in the spring. That's why Lovech is well-known as "The Town of the Lilacs". HistoryLovech is one of the oldest towns in Bulgaria. Traces of human activities from very ancient times were found in this region, mainly in the caves near the town. The reason was the comfortable location between the mountains and the flat country, and the presence of a river. The first "official" inhabitants of the town were the Thracian tribe, the "Meldi", whose traces date as back as IV - III century BC. They founded here their capital, called Melta. It was situated at the place of today's neighbourhood and architecture reserve "Varosha". Later when the Balkans were occupied by the Roman Empire in the area of the town was found a military station called "Prezidium", which was in an important strategic position on one of the main Roman roads. Parts of this road are to be seen in the territory of Lovech today. The Roman citadel "Hisarya", which is situated on the similarly-named hill, was the place where in 1187 the peace treaty between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire was signed and the independence of Bulgaria was officially declared. This is also the beginning of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. In the XII century Lovech was a great trade centre and one of the most famous towns in Bulgaria. The Turkish invasion in the mid XIV century didn't pass the town, but the citadel of Lovech "Hisarya" was captured last of all, in 1446, but for a long time after that the town enjoyed some privileges such as a prohibition on Turkish people living in the town or to take Bulgarian children as "enichars". In XVII century Lovech was a strong trade centre again and one of the richest towns in Bulgaria. That's why the town was called "Altan Lovech" (Golden Lovech, from Turkish) at the time. 1784 is the most horrible year in the history of the town, when it was almost totally burnt and destroyed by a Turkish army. From 20 000 citizens there were only 4 600 survivors. In the times of revolutionary organisations against the Turkish enslavers, Lovech was the centre of operations of the "Internal Revolutionary Organisation" of Vasil Levski, called the "Secret Revolutionary Committee". He was arrested by the Turkish military in a village near Lovech called Kakrina and later hanged in Sofia. Now in the old town "Varosha" is the biggest museum of Vasil Levski in Bulgaria containing many personal items such as notebooks, clothes, weapons etc. In 1872 - 1874 the Bulgarian master-builder Nikola Fichev, known also as Kolyo Ficheto, built the famous Covered Bridge over the river Ossam, which is the only one in the Balkans. The bridge was burned out in 1925, but was rebuilt in 1931 again. Now it connects the new and the old part of the town and is full of cafes, small restaurants and many souvenir shops. Culture and Nature Sights
Theatres
Museums
Sports
Famous people, born in or connected with Lovech
Partner Towns
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
