Welcome to Smolyan

If you hear chords from the lyre of Orpheus or you see a maiden in a Rhodopes costume walking on the rock called "The Bride" ready to die but not to change of your faith, you are in Smolyan - the smallest regional city in Bulgaria and one of the longest.
The town is located in southern Bulgaria, in the Perelik - Prespa part of the Western Rhodopes and occupies the valley and the two banks of the Cherna river. It stands 169 km from Sofia, 104 km south of Plovdiv and 98 km west of Kardzhali. His name is due to the Slavic tribe Smolyani. It is mentioned by Herodotus, who believes that in the ancient city was inhabited by the Thracians. In other ancient Greek sources it is said that there was a sanctuary of God Dionysius. Whatever the truth, it is a fact that Smolyan is a unique place not only with its history, architecture and landmarks, but with the possibility to dive into the past, look through telescopes to see the future, and blend in with the nature that combines mountains, valleys, waterfalls and caves.
If you decide to come here, first enjoy the temples. The city has two mosques and seven Christian churches. Here is the second largest cathedral in Bulgaria after Sofia Alexander Nevski. It is called "St. Vissarion Smolyanski". It has 11 bells. The height of her bell tower is 32 m. The other churches, where you can pray, light a candle for health or simply absorb the beauty of the icon-painting - "St. George the Victorious", "The Virgin Mary" St. Theodore Stratilat, St. Nedelya, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Holy Spirit. In addition, there are ten chapels in the town, the most recent being " Holy Mother of God", opened in 2010. In the Mogilata place, 3 km northwest of Smolyan are the remains of an ancient Christian complex, including a basilica and farm buildings, and about 4 km away is the Smolyan Monastery "St. Atanas".
We will stay in the sky not only with the churches, but by going to the Rozhen area, where the largest in the Balkans and Southeast Europe is built Astronomical Observatory - NAO "Rozhen". It was opened in 1981, but it started operating two years earlier in 1979. It was equipped with six telescopes to carry out observations related to the dynamics and physics of the bodies of the Solar System and observations of objects outside our galaxy.
If you do not leave the cosmos and its mystery next to your stop must necessarily be the Planetarium - the largest in Bulgaria, which of its creation in 1975 was visited by over 2 500 000 people. Offers a program in foreign languages, it has 150 seats and two large, plus a few smaller telescopes. The most impressive thing here is the round star hall with a dome-shaped ceiling, which is an exact copy of the sky and the stars. You can see the movement of the heavens bodies of the solar system, through a special technology.
For those who love history, the wide open doors of the Stoyu Shishkov Historical Museum were created in the distant 1935. It is one of the oldest and major museums in the Middle Rhodopes. It is included in the Hundred National Tourist Sites. It is located in the center of the city and has over 150,000 exhibits showing history of the Rhodopes from ancient times to our days. Another museum is the Laszlo Nagy collection. Housed in the Guyder House. In the town there are many beautiful Renaissance houses The Meram's, Sarie's, the Alibay's Konak, the Pangalov House, the Mednikarskata charshia, the Art Gallery "Peter Staykov", which is located on the main street and shelters the walls of famous Bulgarian artists. The city is the famous century-old plane, with its stunning 289 years. Transferred from Greece through 1720, the platter is part of a complex including a mosque and a church that has the only wooden bell tower in the vicinity. Explore the architectural reserve Dolno Raikovo. In the past Dolno Raikovo was a village. Now it is part of the town and the buildings in it are in the style of the Rhodopian Revival architecture.
Smolyan is the center of many cultural events such as Rozhen National Folklore Festival, International Youth Folklore "Orpheus Feasts", International Youth hip hop opera jam On it, International Plamen painting, International Jazz Ethno Jazz, Festival of Courier and Masquerade Games "Pestendelennik". There is a paintball club in the town offering full equipment for the purpose, and about 5 km away, near the village of Lechevo there is a horse base.
The environs of Smolyan are no less attractive. The Neviastata rock and the Neviastata eco path are 900 m. It starts at the monastery Saint Panteleimon and leads to the rock. There is an artificial climbing wall, benches, arbors, playground. 5 km away is the Smolyanski Lakes hut, which is connected to the lift the hut with Snezhanka Peak. The lift is a two-seater with a capacity of 365 people per hour and is ten minutes from the hut. A waterfall is a 30-minute walk away from Smolyan "Heart" near the Orpheus waterfall. Next to it is the eco path Canyon of the Waterfalls. The Orpheus Rocks are 6 km away. The beginning of the marked path begins from Snezhanka peak. The transition is about 15-20 minutes. The view from here to Smolyan lakes is impressive. The legend tells that Orpheus created his music inspired from the beauty of the landscape. The Smolyan lakes themselves are scattered along the Cherna River. Ever twenty, now only eight left. The water is alternating with lots of meadows, making lakes into beautiful picnic and camping sites. 15 km north of Smolyan at the foot of Mount Snezhanka is the famous one the mountain resort of Pamporovo, offering great winter and winter conditions for skiing and snowboarding, and mountain biking opportunities in summer.
You can descend down into the bowels of the earth through the caves - Golubovitsa, which is a water cave, so there is a need for a driver and special equipment, Uhlovitsa, where there are coralites, and at the end there is the icy White Falls and Kaleto. All three caves stand 7.5 km from the city. If you want to look the surroundings from high tops will give you this opportunity. They are several - Turilla high 1822 m, peak Svoboda or Momchil high 1915 km, peak Orpheus on the second highest peak in the Rhodope Mountains known as Karlaka 2188 m, and the leader of the Rhodope Mountains Golyam Perelik with a height of 2191 m, which is the seventh in Bulgaria.
Tired of the nature, Smolyan will offer you hospitality in many of its hotels and will strok your mouth with delicious food. Do not miss to try local dishes - kochamak, patatnik, wedge, various dishes with potatoes, katsmi, sherry, beans in a pot and yoghurt.
Inspired Orpheus' music, the persistence of beliefs and the look of the stars, the town of Smolyan will excite not only your senses, it will remain surely in your soul.