Troyan Bulgaria - Travel Guide, Tours, Hotels and Photos - Pictures of Bulgaria

The town of Troyan lies on the two banks of the Beli Osum river, in the skirts of the Troyan part of the Balkan mountain. The town is named after an ancient Roman road, Via Trayana, crossing the Balkan mountain through today’s Pass of Troyan and linking the regions of Misia and Thracia with the Aegean Sea.

The origin of today’s settlement is believed to date back to the 15th century when after Bulgaria fell under Ottoman rule, a lot of Bulgarian refugees fled to settle in this hard-to-reach and forested region. The town grew until the early 19th century when it was repeatedly raided by the so-called Kurzhalii (Turkish brigands). During the 19th century the town saw economic and cultural prosperity. Crafts reached their greatest apogee, with pottery and wood-carving being particularly instrumental in the city’s development. In 1870, a community culture centre was opened in Troyan, while in 1972 the so-called Yellow School launched a modern secular programme of studies, including sciences and French language. Troyan citizens took an active part in the liberation movement against the Ottoman rulers as well. A reviolutionary committee was opened in the town in 1971 upon the initiative of the Apostle of Freedom, Vassil Levski. During the Riussian-Turkish Liberation War, the town was destroyed by the so-called bashibuzuk troops (volunteers in the Turkish army) and had to be rebuilt from the ashes afterwards. At present however, the town has lost some of its grandeur, though its promotion as a destination of cultural and mountain tourism together with a programme for reconstruction of old Renaissance houses promises to bring it back to the glitter.

Visitors of the city would enjoy a stroll by the river where renovated houses of wealthy craftsmen and traders from the Renaissance period can be contemplated. Authentic houses in an old style can be also seen in the Popinska and Dryanska quarters. The Crafts and Applied Arts Museum together with the St Paraskeva Church (1835) are also of interest to tourists.