The town of Belogradchik (6685 inhabitants, 520 m above sea level) is situated between both mountain massifs Venetsa and Vedernik (small sub-parts of Western Stara Planina), among the fantastic world of Belogradchik rocks. It is 182 km northwest from Sofia, 68 km to the northwest to Montana, 52 km southwest from Vidin and 12 km southwest from the Oreshets railway station. It is a town amidst a fantastic natural environment.
History: This is an old settlement, originated as early as 1st century when the Romans built a fortress among the rocks. After that the fortress and the settlement were ruined many times and built again by Byzantines, Bulgarians, Turks. A register from 1454 testifies about the Bulgarian town here. In 1837 during the reign of the Sultan Mahmud II the fortress was finished in its present-day outlook and the non-paid work of the Bulgarian population. In the period of Ottoman Rule Belogradchik was a small agrarian-craftsman town. A peasant uprising began here in 1850, but it was cruelly crushed and the last defenders of the fortress slaughtered. The name of the town comes from “belija gradezh” (the white building) of the fortress - a natural combination of human and natural work. After the Liberation (1878) Belogradchik gradually becomes a tourist centre above all, which attracts thousands of visitors from the country and abroad.
Landmarks: The Town Museum of History is arranged in the Revival house of the Panovs’ (1810), which in itself is an architectural monument. It is in the centre of the town (tel. 0936 3469). The Astronomical Observatory has one of the most powerful telescopes in Bulgaria. St. Georgi the Victorious Church was built in 1868.
Accommodation: Belogradchishki skali Hotel. Rabisha Tourist Complex (in the park above the stadium, 99 beds in 2 suites and in 2-bed and 4-bed rooms).
Tourist information: At the hotel, at the Tourist Complex and at the Belogradchishki Skali Tourist Association (1, Vasil Levski Str., tel. 0936 3285, 4933).
Transport. There is regular bus transport to Sofia, Montana, Vidin and other smaller settlements in the region. The bus station has a tel.: 0936 3427. There is a bus connection with the Oreshets railway station (12 km to the northeast) of the Mezdra – Vidin railway line which connects Belogradchik to the national railway system.
