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Top Attractions in Pazardzhik Province

Strelcha

[[ ]] Strelcha is a small Bulgarian town with a population of 4,284 as of September 2013. The town lies 13 km to the east of Panagyurishte and 41 km to the north of Pazardzhik and is part of Pazardzhik Province. It is situated in the southern skirts of the Sredna Gora mountain and huddles in a beautiful valley. The favourable microclimate, nature and mineral water springs, combined with the rich history and natural sights, have turned Strelcha into a national spa resort all around the year. Even if the town's tourism industry has decayed somewhat in the early post-communist period, its tourist product has started to revive in the last couple of years. The most important sight in the town is arguably the Bulgarian Orthodox Archangel Michael Church-Monument dedicated to the citizens of Strelcha that were killed during the April Uprising of 1876. Their names can be seen inscribed on both sides of the church. The rose gardens in Strelcha spread over 3,000 decares, as this is one of the biggest rose oil production regions in Bulgaria. Rose oil of the highest quality possible is produced in the municipality. Besides roses, since the 1990s and 2000s Strelcha successfully cultivated lavender, from which first-class essential oil is extracted. Outside Strelcha, the road to the town of Koprivshtitsa offers spectacular sights of natural rock formations. Three kilometres to the southeast of Strelcha one can see the famous Zhaba Mogila inside which archeologists have found a Thracian temple. The mould is one of the biggest in Bulgaria — its height is more than 20 m, while its diameter is about 80-90 m. The two chambers and the façade are built of large, masterly carved stone blocks, connected with iron conjunctures and covered with lead. The biggest of these blocks measures 2.6 m by 0.6 m. Their arrangement is regarded as flawless. A tunnel with a length of 75 m has been dug below the mould and is planned to be transformed into a museum. A second stone construction, believed to have served as a sanctuary, has been found in the northwest part of the mould. It consists of three halls with a total area of 25 square metres. 2.5 km to the south of Strelcha one can see the remains of the Strelcha Fortress believed to date back to the 9-10th century AD. The fortress was built on the right bank of the Luda Yana River on a separate hill. The fortress walls surrounded a rectangular space with a length of 140 m and a width of 50-60 m. Additionally, there are some preserved remains of several other fortresses to the south and southeast of Strelcha.

Dospat Reservoir

Dospat Reservoir is situated in the western part of the Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria. The reservoir west of Smolyan) stretches nearly 19 km northwest to the city of Sarnitsa. At 1,200 m above the sea level, it is one of the highest dams in Bulgaria in terms of altitude, and, with its 22 km2 of water area, the second largest in capacity. It is fed by the Dospat River. The dam, which creates the lake, is built for hydroelectricity generation. There is no HPP installed at the dam but rather the water is taken to the Teshel HPP and then further down the Devin HPP and the Vacha River with its HPPs, dams and reservoirs . Besides that, a minimum of 0.15 m3/s is constantly released for sanitation of the Dospat River riverbed where the average input to the reservoir is 7.9 m3/s . The flora and fauna around the reservoir are diverse and the geography offers breathtaking sights. Old coniferous forests surround the lake. On the northern bank where the town of Sarnitsa and Krushata neighborhood are located. The terrain is hilly, with meadows and arable land available, used for grazing, potato growing and other agricultural activities. Parallel to the south bank are steep slopes covered in spruce and this bank is where most holiday cabins and hotels are located. The reservoir is rich in fish. It is stocked with perch, trout, carp, European chub, common rudd, common roach, pumpkinseed, wels catfish, Danube Bleak and various members of Carassius. Trout are reared in cages within the reservoir. Most types of fishing are practiced: spinning with lures, fly fishing, and others. In the surrounding areas there are a number of other large dams, including Vacha, Golyam Beglik, Batak and Shiroka Polyana. The area offers great opportunities for recreation and tourism. Accessibility is, however, rather poor. Four main mountain roads link the reservoir to the rest of the world. One from Batak, a second from Velingrad to Sarnitsa, a third from Devin and a fourth from Gotse Delchev to the town of Dospat. The one from Batak allows accessibility to some of the other Rhodope dams along its length. It forks into two roads; one leading to the town of Dospat and the other to Sarnitsa. This road to Sarnitsa is in places very rutted and may prove a challenge to navigate. Along the south bank there runs a rough dirt track from Sarnitsa to Dospat but this is only used to access the holiday spots.

Pistiros

Pistiros was an inland Ancient Greek Emporium in Ancient Thrace. It is now situated near the city of Vetren, in the westernmost part of the Maritsa river valley, and is located at 42°14'36.78"N 24°5'28.55"E. Emporion Pistiros, a name taken from the ancient Greek inscription discovered in 1990, was founded by Thasian merchants or colonists from the Pistyros on the coast of Thrace. It sustained intensive relations with the main economical centers in Aegean Thrace. Pistiros was founded in the 3rd quarter of the 5th century BC. This would place her founding during the reign of the first kings of the Odrysian kingdom, Teres I, Sparatocos or Sitalkes. Under Amadocus I the emporion already existed and maintained wide trade contacts. Under Cotys I and his successors, the Thasian, Apollonian, and Maroneian traders obtained guarantees, included in the Vetren inscription, concerning the integrity of their life, property and activity. This status coincided with the period of zenith for Pistiros. The excavations uncovered the East fortification wall with a gate, towers, and a bastion, built of stone blocks on the model of Thasian fortification systems, as well as stone-paved streets, buildings with stone bases, and a well-constructed sewer system. The archaeological excavations outlined the following phases of the site: I phase (second half of the 5th century BC end of the first quarter of the 4th century BC): foundation of the emporion, building of the fortification system, pavement of the first streets, building of the drainage system. II phase (second quarter end of the 4th century BC): reconstruction in the site’s plan, connected with the reign of King Cotys I, heyday of Pistiros, regulations concerning the statute of Pistiros and its emporitai in the Vetren inscription. III phase (3rd century BC beginning of the 2nd century BC): burning down and destruction of Pistiros by the Celts in the late 3rd century BC as well as its transformation into a metal production centre.

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