Shishmanovo Kale

Shishmanovo Kale, three kilometres south of present-day Samokov, is an ancient and medieval town and episcopal centre also called Old Samokov. The Turks destroyed the historic site in the late fourteenth century. It lies at the foot of the Dospey Mountains, or Lakatishka Rila, at the Shishman Gorge, on Shishman Peak approximately 300 m east of the road to Beli Iskar and Mala Tsarkva.
A cross symbolising Bulgarian faith stands on the hill, which has been designated an archaeological site of national significance. The place is venerated as the site of Tsar Ivan Shishman's last battle with the Turks and is regarded as his burial mound, although it was probably his brother Ivan Asen V Shishman, rather than the tsar himself, who died here in 1388. The town was mentioned as early as the nineteenth century in works by Konstantin Fotinov and other National Revival figures.
Shishmanovo Kale is an ancient Thracian settlement strategically situated on high ground overlooking the Samokov Plain and mountain routes. In antiquity it was inhabited by Romanised Thracians and Goths, and in Late Antiquity it had a Roman garrison. The town comprised an outer settlement, a walled urban area and a citadel. Sections of walls, a gate, two Early Christian basilicas, a citadel tower and other buildings have been discovered. The basilicas were destroyed during barbarian invasions in the sixth–seventh century. Three distinct periods of occupation can be identified: from the first to the early third century, the late fourth century, and the fifth to the late sixth century. In the Middle Ages, around the twelfth–fourteenth century, the town became part of the Second Bulgarian Empire, and a large Bulgarian church known as Peter's Church was established. Archaeological investigations began in 2004 and continue to reveal the site's historical riches.