Historic sites

Bozhenishki Urvich is a medieval stone fortification, now an archaeological monument with the status of a site of national significance. The history of this old fortified settlement began to emerge in 1918, when a medieval rock inscription by Sebastos Ognyan was discovered among the roots of a fallen centuries-old tree. Archaeological investigations carried out in 1972 showed that the site had been inhabited since prehistoric times, but that its earliest fortifications dated from the 5th–6th centuries, as part of the early Byzantine defensive system.

Bozhenitsa village, Botevgrad region, 13th–14th centuries

The Buzludzha Monument, known as the Memorial House of the Bulgarian Communist Party, is Bulgaria's largest communist monument, built in 1981 in honour of the Buzludzha Congress of 1891. With its massive five-pointed star illuminated by powerful lights, the monument is visible even from the Romanian bank of the Danube. Construction began in 1974, financed by donations totalling 14,186,000 leva.

Hadzhi Dimitar Peak, 1974–1981

Castra Martis, also known as the Fortress of Mars, is an important archaeological site in Kula, northwestern Bulgaria. Built in the Late Roman period, it formed part of the Roman Empire's restored Danube limes and was probably intended to protect the road from Bononia to Singidunum through Vrashka Chuka, the northwesternmost pass in the Balkan Mountains. The fortress combines several historical phases.

Northwestern Bulgaria, Kula, Third and fourth centuries

Cherven Fortress lies beside the village of Cherven, 34 km south of Ruse. It was an important military and administrative centre during the Second Bulgarian Empire. It occupies an area naturally protected by sheer cliffs.

North-eastern Bulgaria, 12th century

Cholakova Mound, near the village of Staro Zhelezare, contains a megalithic structure of stone blocks arranged in a circle. The structure consists of 24 blocks forming a circle between 6.5 and 7 metres in diameter. The blocks are between 0.5 and 2 metres high and are made of friable, impermanent rock.

Near Hisarya, 12th–10th centuries BC

Demir Baba Tekke is an Alevi sanctuary with a türbe, or mausoleum, near Sveshtari in Razgrad Province, northeastern Bulgaria. It lies in a bend of the Krapinets River canyon beside a powerful karst spring and forms part of the Sboryanovo Historical and Archaeological Reserve. The tekke was among Bulgaria's first national cultural monuments, officially designated in 1927.

Razgrad Province, near Sveshtari, 1612–1617

Devil's Bridge—the majestic stone guardian of the Arda Hidden in the heart of the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, about 10 km from Ardino, lies one of Bulgaria's most mysterious and picturesque architectural treasures: Devil's Bridge. With its imposing stone arches reflected in the clear waters of the River Arda, this historic monument carries centuries of history, surrounded by legends, mysteries and unspoilt natural beauty. History The bridge was built in the early 16th century, between 1515 and 1518, on the orders of the Ottoman ruler Selim I.

Eastern Rhodope Mountains, about 10 km from Ardino, 16th century (1515–1518)

Dragoyna Peak is known as one of the northernmost ridges of the Rhodope Mountains, situated between Dragoynovo and Bukovo. A Thracian sanctuary lies on the summit, the subject of scholarly investigation in recent years but still relatively unknown to the general public. Archaeological expeditions from the Plovdiv Museum conducted the first investigations in 2004–2006.

Golyama Dragoyna Peak, Eighteenth–third century BC

The Dryanovo Monastery of St Michael the Archangel is an active Bulgarian monastery for men in northern Bulgaria. It has a long history connected with ancient settlements inhabited in early prehistoric times. Archaeological finds from Bacho Kiro Cave date from the Middle and Late Palaeolithic, 100,000–10,000 BC, and include more than 6,000 artefacts.

Northern Bulgaria, Dryanovo, Thirteenth century

The Neolithic and Chalcolithic necropolis at Durankulak is one of southeastern Europe's largest, with 1,200 graves excavated. Situated in Dobruja, this archaeological site is an important source of information about the burial practices, rituals and social structures of the region's prehistoric societies. The necropolis encompasses several periods: the Late Neolithic Hamangia I–II culture, the Early Chalcolithic Hamangia III–IV culture, the Late Chalcolithic Varna culture, the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age, and ancient and medieval periods.

Dobrich Province, 4750 BC–second century BC

In 1989, during rescue excavations, Vladimir Petkov discovered the Episcopal Basilica. Besides the basilica itself, the complex revealed a baptistery, an inner courtyard or atrium, and buildings associated with ecclesiastical life and rituals in Early Christianity during the fifth–sixth century. At the complex's heart is a classical three-aisled basilica, impressive for its monumental scale, interior architecture and lavish floor mosaics and wall paintings.

Sandanski, Fourth–sixth century

The site at Cape St Athanasius is a multilayered archaeological complex containing remains and artefacts from different historical periods. The earliest finds, including stone and copper axeheads, copper arrowheads and awls, date to the Late Chalcolithic, in the fifth millennium BC, or the Early Bronze Age, from the late fourth to the third millennium BC. In the southeastern part of the cape, 140 ritual pits, several sacrificial hearths and pottery fragments from Archaic Greece have been discovered.

Varna Province, Byala, No information