Sliven

Introducing Sliven

Sitting in a sort of bowl around rocky hills of up to 1000m in height, Sliven is one of the most well-known Bulgarian towns for its role in the 19th-century struggle against the Ottomans. While the most famous nearby sight, the so-called ‘Blue Rocks’, amounts to somewhat a case of false advertising, Sliven is still a laid-back and authentic small city with a handful of unique museums and an increasingly interesting accommodation scene. It also makes a good base for trips to relatively remote, but beautiful mountain towns such as Kotel and Medven.

The Thracians, Romans and Greeks all settled in the Sliven area, but little evidence of their civilisations remains. Sliven’s modern history is inextricably linked to the haidouks, the anti-Turkish rebels who lived in the rocky hills nearby from the early 18th to the mid-19th centuries. Eventually uniting their cause under the leadership of Hadzhi Dimitâr and the revered Vasil Levski, they rose up successfully against their Turkish overlords. Despite the plenitude of communist concrete and decrepit apartment blocks, Sliven is worth visiting. Its friendly citizenry includes a surprisingly large number of elderly bicycle owners, and a notable Roma population, too.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009