The town of Kotel (population 7270 inhabitants) is situated in a picturesque small valley in the eastern part of the Balkan Range, 527 m above the sea level. It is 328 km east of Sofia, 49km northeast of Sliven.
     Kotel is not only a place with majestic nature, fresh air, and pure mountain water, but also an important cultural and historical centre. It is called the Stronghold of Bulgarian spirit, Cradle of the Bulgarian Renaissance. The town is a native place of a number of eminent National Revival figures: Georgi Sava Rakovski (one of the main ideologist of the movement for national liberation), the Renaissance men of letters Neophyte Bozvelli, dr. Petar Beron, Sofroni Vrachanski, the socially active men Gavril Krastevich, Aleko Bogoridi, Stefan Bogoridy and many others.
     Kotel is a town with beautiful architectonic models from the late Revival and one of the most important centres of weaving art. Its rich history, Renaissance architecture, and marvelous vicinity make this picturesque Balkan town a desired place for national and international tourism.

     History

     At the beginning of the Ottoman Rule Kotel was inhabited by Bulgarians from the adjacent towns and villages in search of rescue. A Turkish register of 1486 contains the earliest information about the town. During the first centuries of the foreign domination it was inhabited by the so-called derventdgii (special Bulgarian guards of the mountain passes and roads) and dzhelepi (traders of cattle, sheep in particular). The already mentioned obligations of Kotel towards the central authority compensated for a relative independence - municipal self government, independently elected local governor, exemption of some taxation, prohibition of Turkish settling there. All these, as well as the economic growth in 18th - 19th centuries, the commercial contracts, the passionate Orthodox belief of the inhabitants of Kotel (many used to travel to Jerusalem and Sveta Gora) contributed to the transformation of the town into a lively centre of Bulgarian culture and education, of the struggle for church independence and national freedom. Kotel is the native place of Captain Georgi Mamarchev (officer in the Russian Army), Georgi Sava Rakovski (one of the main ideologists of the movement for national liberation), the Revival men of letters Neophyte Bozvelli, Dr. Peter Beron (the composer of the famous "Riben Boukvar" textbook), Sofronii Vrachanski (the most outstanding representative of the literary school of Kotel who copied "Istoria Slavyano-bol-gar-ska" (Slavonic and Bulgarian History) brought by Paisiy Hilendarski himself in 1764), Stefan Izvorski, Ivan Kishelski, Vassil Beron, the socially active men Gavril Krustevich, Aleko Bogoridi, Stefan Bogoridi, etc.
     In 1812 the first Bulgarian elite secular school was opened here. The town is a native place of a number of voivodi (leaders of revolutionaries - haidouts), haidouts, revolutionaries, volunteers, members of in Hadzhi Dimitur's, Panayot Volov's, Hristo Botev's detachments. Vassil Levski set up a revolutionary committee in Kotel. The town suffered hard times during the kurdzhalii (Turkish brigands) raids. Indzhe attempted to attack and rob the town but its inhabitants erected a three-metre high wall and drove back the brigands. Nevertheless, in 1848 and 1863 Kotel was put on fire. During the Russian- Turkish War of Liberation battles were held in the immediate vicinity of the town. The town itself accommodated the volunteer detachments, the volunteers' headquarters with general Stoletov, as well as the Hussar regiment from Narvsk with A. Poushkin at the head, who was son of A. S. Poushkin, the genius Russian poet. After the liberation in 1894 Kotel suffered the most devastating fire in its history when the bigger part of the town was ruined down. Only the quarter called Galata survived and today it renders an approximate idea of what the old town looked like.
     The craft of carpet weaving is very typical for the town and the region, which makes Kotel the oldest centre of artistic fabrics in the country and abroad, having a unique weaving school. The town has preserved precious relics of the past - sarcophagus with Georgi Sava Rakovski's skeleton in it, Dr. Peter Beron's heart, manuscripts of Levski and Sofronii Vrachanski. Its rich history, Revival architecture and marvellous vicinity make this picturesque Balkan town a desired place for national and international tourism.

     Landmarks

     The town of Kotel has been declared an architecture and historical reserve. There have been preserved about 110 houses from the Revival Period in the quarter of Galata that survived the fire in 1894, as well as in those at Durlyanka street. They are Kamchiya-style houses - one- or two-storied, made of stone and wood, with brilliant wood carvings, huge eves, curved roofs and fantastic yards.
     The Galatan School is an architectural monument from 1869. There is an exhibition of typical woven materials from this region. It is devoted to the weaving art of the Kotel women. The exhibition in the Galatan school presents the development of this art from the simple rag through the classic carpet to the complicated up-to-date forms. Their workmanship is demonstrated on a primitive loom. On the first floor exponents from the Revival and the beginning of the XXth century are exhibited, and on the second floor there are new woven icons and pictures made by the native women. The tradition in their works is enriched and further developed.
     The Kyopeev's House is ethnographic museum. The visitor finds himself in the romantic atmosphere of the old Kotel home, feeling its whole beauty, utility and cosiness.
     The Pantheon of Kotel's Renaissance men and women. It is an imposing building made of stone, iron, copper and wood, giving the impression of contact with the glory of the past epoch. Georgi Sava Rakovski's sarcophagus lies here.
     The Museum of Nature and Science preserves approximately 30 000 exhibits which show the natural variety of the area. The museum exposition has been arranged by in accordance with ecological principles and occupies 1 000 square metres. It is the only one of its kind in south-eastern Europe. Vassil Georgiev, a local teacher at the time, established it.
     There is Philip Koutev High School of Music in Kotel, it is the first high school for folk singing and instrumental music in Europe. It was founded on 2.10.1967, and was the first high school for Bulgarian folk singing and instrumental music in Europe. It offers foreigners as well as Bulgarians the opportunity to learn Bulgarian folk music and to feel the Bulgarian spirit and culture.

     Surrounding areas

     The village of Zheravna is 14 km south of Kotel. Every building in the village is an unique monument of culture. The village of Medven is 12 km southeast of Kotel. There are more than 120 cultural monuments dating back to the renaissance epoch. The village of Katunishte is 15 km southeast of the town. 80 buildings there have been declared cultural monuments. The town of Gradetz is situated 17 km southeast of Kotel. It is rich in architectural monuments. Some 7 km away is the antique dividing wall at Zhelezni Vrati.
     There are more than 30 caves that have already been investigated (non-electrified) in the region of Kotel. Most interesting are Ledenika Cave (1111 m long and 242 m deep), Dryanovska Cave (in the area of Pizdra, one of the most easily accessible and much visited by tourists, with numerous beautiful mineral formations), Kurvavata Lokva Cave (The Bloody Puddle) (134 m deep, the legend tells of the murder of many soldiers of Emperor Nikifor's), Rakovski Cave (in 1854 Georgi Sava Rakovski started writing his poem "Gorski Putnik" ("Traveller in the Forest") nearby), etc.
     Very interesting are the Skokovete (Jumps) Waterfall (situated on a left tributary of the Medven River; there is a marked tourist route from the town to the waterfalls), Sini Vir Waterfall (at the Medven River just above the village of Medven), and Medven Springs.

     Transport

     There are regular bus lines from Kotel to Shoumen, Veliki Preslav, Turgovishte, Omourtag, Sliven, Yambol and other villages and towns in the district.