Stara Zagora

Nature and mountains

Balgarka Nature Park

Gabrovo

Beech ecosystems form a central part of the protected natural heritage. The forests shelter bears, wolves and deer, while varied slopes and climatic conditions support rich flora, including many medicinal plants.

Nature and mountains

Central Balkan National Park

Stara planina

The park includes the highest parts of the central Balkan Mountains and nine strict reserves. Their representative old beech forests belong to UNESCO’s international heritage property protecting Europe’s ancient beech forests.

Museums and galleries

Chudomir Literary and Art Museum — Kazanlak

Kazanlak

The museum occupies the home of Dimitar Hristov Chorbadzhiyski, known as Chudomir. Alongside the writer and local historian’s legacy, it presents paintings by his wife Mara, adding a family artistic perspective.

History and archaeology

Defenders of Stara Zagora 1877 Memorial — Stara Zagora

Stara Zagora

The monument resembles the flying Samara flag, while six volunteers and a Russian officer symbolise the Bulgarian battalions. The ossuary at its base connects the architectural image with remembrance of the fallen.

History and archaeology

Golyama Arsenalka Tomb

Kazanlak

Stone double doors close the domed chamber, whose floor forms concentric bands around a circular block. The burial bed and horse remains in the antechamber reveal the Thracian tomb’s ritual character.

History and archaeology

Golyama Kosmatka Tomb

Shipka

The temple complex includes rectangular and domed chambers, plus a room carved from a huge granite block. Marble doors bear Helios and Medusa; the sanctuary later served for an aristocratic burial.

History and archaeology

Gryphons Tomb

Shipka

The fourth-century BC tomb has a long corridor, rectangular antechamber and circular domed chamber. Double stone doors closed the rooms; opposite the entrance stands a stone bed with a lion-paw-decorated step.

History and archaeology

Helvetia Tomb

Shipka

The mid-fourth-century BCE tomb combines a long corridor with rectangular rooms. Grooves cut into its fine white plaster imitate marble blocks, while the burial chamber retains a two-leaf stone door with an internal locking mechanism.

History and archaeology

Kazanlak Thracian Tomb — Kazanlak

Kazanlak

Soldiers discovered the tomb accidentally in 1944. Its principal treasures are surviving murals: military scenes in the corridor and a funerary banquet in the domed chamber, where the ruler and his wife join hands.

Museums and galleries

Kulata Ethnographic Complex

Kazanlak

Two restored houses reveal different aspects of Kazanlak life: a Sub-Balkan rural home and benefactor Ivan Hadzhienov's residence. Farming equipment and domestic interiors illuminate links between livelihood, prosperity and urban culture.

Museums and galleries

Neolithic Dwellings Museum — Stara Zagora

Stara Zagora

A sudden fire preserved the contents of two Neolithic homes beneath their collapsed walls. Pottery, hand mills, ovens and charred grain reveal agriculture and domestic life among the area’s earliest inhabitants.

Museums and galleries

Nikola Manev Art Gallery — Chirpan

Chirpan

Nikola Manev purchased the Revival-period house in 2000 and transformed it into a gallery of his work. South American crystals donated by Iliya Delev accompany the paintings, bringing art together with natural forms.

History and archaeology

Ostrusha Tomb

Shipka

One chamber was carved from a single granite block. Its panelled ceiling carried portraits, scenes and ornament, while a surviving horse burial demonstrates the richness of the ancient funerary ritual.

Museums and galleries

Peyo Yavorov House Museum — Chirpan

Chirpan

Domestic interiors evoke Yavorov's early years, while photographs and original belongings trace his creative life. The museum is also associated with the January Yavorov Days, celebrating literature and the arts.

Museums and galleries

Regional History Museum — Stara Zagora

Stara Zagora

Prehistoric finds, ancient glass and bronze, mosaics and medieval art trace the region's long development. Numismatic and ethnographic collections add evidence of exchange, daily life and changes in local culture.

Museums and galleries

Rose Museum

Kazanlak

Exhibit from Rose Museum

Chemistry teacher Hristo Yaramov was associated with the early laboratory for testing rose oil. Purity certificates supported exports and show how scientific analysis helped protect the reputation of the local industry.

Nature and mountains

Rose Valley (region)

Dolina na rozite

Kazanlak’s Rose Museum began in 1967 as a small exhibition devoted to rose picking in the town and surrounding area. In 1969 it became an independent museum documenting the oil-bearing rose’s cultural importance.

Monasteries and places of worship

Saint Athanasius Monastery — Zlatna livada

Zlatna livada

The monastery is associated with the tradition of Saint Athanasius the Great and its foundation in AD 344. A rock hermitage and monastery well feature in local pilgrimage customs and legends.

History and archaeology

Shipka

Shipchenski prohod

The park museum preserves battle positions, batteries and dugouts associated with the pass’s defence in 1877–1878. The Freedom Monument displays weapons, documents, decorations and personal possessions belonging to participants in the fighting.

Monasteries and places of worship

Shipka Nativity Memorial Church

Shipka

The gilded limewood iconostasis includes icons painted on cypress wood, donated by Athos's Saint Panteleimon monastery. Beneath the church, sarcophagi containing fallen soldiers' remains connect its artistic decoration with commemoration.

History and archaeology

Shushmanets Tomb

Shipka

An Ionic column adorns the antechamber, while a Doric column supports the circular chamber's dome. Stone doors with stylised sun discs and surviving white plaster reveal the Thracian funerary complex's refined architecture.

History and archaeology

Svetitsa Tomb

Kran

A gold funerary mask is among the masonry grave's remarkable finds. Weapons, a silver vessel and painted pottery complete the assemblage, revealing the buried Thracian aristocrat's status and cultural world.