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Kostenets - Winner 2019

What makes Kostenets special

Kostenets municipality's convenient location makes it easy to reach with ideal weather throughout the year. It combines healing mineral springs, natural and cultural sights, a rich historic heritage, and attractive events with longstanding traditions and crafts.

Health and wellbeing tourism

Kostenets municipality is located between two mountains - the northern slopes of Rila Mountain and the southern slopes of Ihtimanska Sredna Gora. There are three healing mineral springs make this destination a centre for wellbeing.

The water at Momin prohod has a temperature of 64°C and is said to cure diseases of the respiratory organs (laryngitis, tracheitis, bronchial asthma), intestines, nervous system, skin, and more.

Kostenets Villas has mineral water at 47°C, containing hydrocarbonate anion, which helps maintain an alkaline-acid balance. Sulphate anions stimulate digestion, improving the removal of toxins.

With its mineral water at 73°C, Pchelinski bani helps stimulate the healing processes in joint and muscular diseases, helps with respiratory, allergic, skin, stomach and endocrine diseases.

Sightseeing tips

  • Visit the Roman era Stenos Fortress at Trayanovi Vrata Pass, where Tsar Samuel later defeated the army of the Byzantine emperor Basil II.
  • Enjoy and relax at Kostenski and Skalovitski waterfalls. Take Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov's favourite path to Kostenski waterfall or walk the eco-trail 'The Eagle's Path', located just above it.
  • Bathe in mineral water used for healing, rehabilitation, cosmetic and anti-stress procedures.
  • Join Momin Prohod's craft workshop to take part in demonstrations of weaving on a loom, knitting lace, wool socks and bags, as well as learn about regional folklore and lifestyle.

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Yambol municipality - Winner 2017

What makes Yambol Municipality special?

Yambol offers its visitors the unique opportunity to get acquainted with the legacy of ancient civilizations and to shift into the spirit of past times. Visitors can experience the mystery of the ancient Thracian ritual by welcoming the sun to a millennial rock sanctuary. Get captivated by the mystery of the Kuker games at the Kukerlandia Festival and experience the Thracian and Roman epoch at the Fair of Tourist Entertainment and Animations.

Cultural tourism

Yambol is an excellent destination for cultural tourism. The main tourist attractions have been modernised and developed. This has led to innovative tourist products and large-scale of festivals recreating customs and traditions.

However, Yambol is not included in the established tourist routes and is still an unknown destination for many tourists. It’s only been 10 years since the local government set itself the goals of developing the tourist potential of the region and getting Yambol recognised as a tourist destination.

The strategy of the municipality focuses on tourist resources that are specific to the region: Thracian mysteries and rituals, Kuker, Carol and other local traditions, The Museum of Battle Glory, bezisten (ancient covered market) and more. For this purpose, the municipality works closely with prominent specialists in Thracology and Folklore.

The municipal company ‘Tourism and Culture’ was established to implement Yambol’s policy in tourism. The infrastructure projects implemented in tourism provide employment to the local businesses and the local community.

To achieve environmental sustainability, the municipality implements several environmental and waste management programs, leading to favourable results like reaching the norms for their content in atmospheric air in Yambol municipality for the period 2016 -2018.

Sightseeing tips

  • See the 5 century old bezisten with its modern interactive museum
  • Visit the ancient Thracian town of Kabyle - the only preserved Thracian antique town in the country
  • Stop by the Thracian rock sanctuary and observatory ‘Rabbit Peak’ located above Kabyle, dating from the 2nd millennium BC

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Silistra region - Winner 2010

The uniqueness of Silistra

Silistra has a unique strategic location. Its inland port is a major logistics hub connecting Europe with the East. The strategic location of the city gives it a great basis for the development of agriculture and a competitive economy.

This coexists with the unique natural beauty of the region, where rivers and mountains, and deep-rooted, centuries-old traditions create an amazing atmosphere. Natural and historical sites are closely interlinked in the Silistra region. A visit to the preserved fishing village in Tutrakan, which maintains local traditions and rituals, is a good example of this.

Before leaving, don’t forget to...

  • visit the Turkish fort ‘Medzhidy Tabia’ – the best preserved fortification system on the northern border of the Ottoman Empire
  • visit the oldest church in Bulgaria, the Armenian Apostolic Church of ‘Surp Astvadzadzin’, located in the town of Silistra.
  • try the local cuisine with its wide range of fish dishes.

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Belitsa - Winner 2009

What makes Belitsa special?

The Dancing Bear Park is truly one of the special 'feel good' attractions in Belitsa. The park receives monetary support from the Bridget Bardot Foundation and the local Belitsa municipalities

No trip to Belitsa is complete without tasting the enticing local cuisine and enjoying the festivities that follow dinner. A stop at one of the town's quaint restaurants to try the hearty Mediterranean-influenced food ends with a night of Belistisian songs, which are sung around the tables.

Belitsa is an area steeped in history and the town's municipalities have taken the necessary steps to preserve this. Environmental issues are always on the agenda and new measures such as eco-friendly conservation are constantly being improved.

With a calendar filled with festivals and events, Belitsa stays vibrant throughout the year. The region is home to Muslims and Christians alike, whose religious rituals keep the area lively throughout the holidays.

What to look for in...

  • spring - Sultry Mediterranean air as a harbinger of fine weather to come
  • summer - Long hikes through picturesque valleys
  • fall - Festivals galore to celebrate life
  • winter - World-class skiing with amazing alpine views.

Highlights of the Town of Belitsa

  • Watching playful bears tussle in the park
  • Stepping back into Neolithic times
  • Hearty singing after a fine feast
  • Trekking through fresh snowfall on a sunny day.

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Belogradchik - Winner 2008

Natural heritage

The area has an abundance of intriguing natural features. Its geology gives it a network of interesting rock formations, including what is described as the jewel in its crown, the Magura cave. Situated near Rabisha village, 25km away from Belogradchik, this is Bulgaria’s biggest cave and home to galleries and halls that will appeal to the most experienced speleologist or caver.

The Triumphal Hall, the Bat Gallery, the Stalactites’ Hall, the Drawings Gallery, the Fallen Pine Hall, the Poplar Hall, the Throne Hall, the Ceremonial Hall and the Fjords Corridor – these are all evocative names that call the visitor underground. These caves from the paleolithic era are important, having unique stone drawings painted with bat manure dating from the epipaleolithic age (10,000 BC) to the early bronze age, and fossils of wild prehistoric animals. Open all year round, the caves are well lit and the paths that meander through the underground world are well maintained and fitted with safety rails. The paths are open to both walkers and cyclists.

If claustrophobia looms, then escape is offered in the form of star-gazing at the astronomical observatory, situated among the Belogradchik rocks. It serves as a romantic getaway where the moon, the rings of Saturn, the satellites of Jupiter, Venus’ sickle, comets, stars, and galaxies can all be clearly observed.

For those preferring life sciences to geology and astronomy, Belogradchik also houses the only museum of natural science in north-west Bulgaria. Over 3,000 exhibits cover the most attractive part of the rich biological variety of this part of Bulgaria. Interesting lectures present fascinating and curious facts about the living world to visitors.

Folklore

An important highlight of the year is the folklore festival 'From Tymok to Iskar – along the steps of the Thracians' which lasts for three days in September. The festival kicks off with the Thracian procession which takes place at the famous Belogradchik fortress to the sound of shepherd’s pipes and other musical instruments, as participants dressed in traditional Thracian clothing walk through the town. The scene has an eerie quality with participants dressed in costume, wearing masks and bearing torches. People wishing to join in can do so as masks, costumes and torches are handed out freely.

Thracian goddess Bendyda is feted as her story is celebrated in rock, fire and torch light and historical reenactments are staged in Panairishte square, with titles like 'Orpheus and the stone wedding' or 'Tamirius and the muses'.

Competitive tribal battles are reproduced using improvised arms like javelins, swords, bows, shields and sticks. The festival involves sporting competitions such as javelin and disk throwing, archery, horse racing and fire jumping. The winners are crowned by a young woman in the role of the goddess Bendyda. In the Panairishte square, special areas are set aside for the molding of clay where craftsmen reveal the skills and the secrets of this art.

Art and culture

Belogradchik fortress was built amongst impenetrable rock before the Bulgarian nation existed and was used as a fortress right up to the Serbian-Bulgarian war of 1885. Visitors today will find it easy to see why the spot was chosen for fortification if they climb up the highest part of the fortress – the first plate. Bulgaria appears spread out before them, from the ridge of Stara Planina in the south to the copper Carpathian mountains in the west. Directly below lie the rock formations which, from this perspective, seem even more dramatic.

The Museum of History in Panov’s house, built around 1810, is a typical model of western Balkan architecture which was opened as a museum following its restoration in 1970. An exhibition of 8,000 artifacts reflects the life, occupation and the battles of the people.

Historical architecture and the reflection of the lives of those that lived in the dwellings of a past time can also be explored in the Anishte grounds – excavated ruins of an ancient village, artifacts collected from which include pottery fragments, ornaments and coins from the 3rd century.

The Hadji Hjusein mosque is also a site worth visiting. It boasts the best of Bulgarian woodcarving and is the only mosque with a Bulgarian fretwork ceiling.

Wine

The region is celebrated for its wine and local inhabitants include wine tasting as an important part of their traditions. The Thracians believed that wine could lift people out of the earth and up to heaven. Local residents and tourists to the areas are willing to put the theory to the test!

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