Berkovitsa
One of the future plans for development of winter tourism in Bulgaria
belongs to the cozy and picturesque municipal of Bercovitsa. It is now a
fact that the western parts of the Balkan mountain range are trying to
catch up with the other winter resorts. The mayor of the town announced
that the priority development of the tourism is written in the strategy of
Berkovitsa municipal.
According to the plans a cabin lift will be constructed from Berkovitsa
to Kom zone which is about 16 kilometers east from the town. At the moment
the zone offers one ski piste with a drug- lift and three tourism bases
with a total number of 100 beds. The plans of the municipal are to make
the piste twice as large and to recover some old pistes so that the total
length of the ski pistes will become 15- 20 kilometers.
Berkovitsa municipal for the moment offers around 600 beds. The idea is
on the upper station of the lift to be built a hotel with 100 beds and the
rest to be built on the lower station in the town.
Investors have already offered plans for the development of the
infrastructure in the region. One of them is for 80,6 million euro. It is
possible this offer to be supported by other Bulgarian and foreign
investors.
The latest news from the municipal is the contract between the
municipal and "Olimp" joint stock Company for the development of a ski
complex in the region of Kom peak. The capital of the new company is 10
million BGN. The first building sites of the new winter complex should be
ready by the end of 2006.
The town of Berkovitsa is situated in the northern foot of Berkovski
Balkan (Western Balkan Range). It is 89 kilometers north from Sofia
and 25 kilometers north of the Petrochan narrow.
The largest part of the area is a hilly mountain terrain, very often
cut through by ravines. The lowest point above sea level is in the village
of Borovtsi - 250 metres, and the highest point is the Kom Peak - 2016
metres.
Berkovitsa is an old settlement. This is proved by the remains of a
fortress and a church from the 4th century, situated on the top of Kaleto
hill. The town is famous from the time of king Kaloyan (the beginning of
13th century). The town is first mentioned in a written document from
1491. During the Ottoman rule it is developed as a craft center- mainly
woodworking and pottery.
Famous historical monumentsThe house museum "Ivan Vazov"- The house
itself has interesting exterior and interior architecture with wood
carving on the ceiling and original fireplaces.
Permanent ethnographic exhibition is also shown in another
architectural monument.
The clock tower is remarkable for its huge size and beautiful upper
part with old clock mechanism. It is built in 1762 and is one of the
oldest still standing towers in Bulgaria.
Places to stay: Hotel "TOBO" (traditional hotel- restaurant); Hotel-
restaurant Mramor;
Transport- Auto and rail transport connect Bercovitsa with the rest of
the world. There are regular bus lines to Sofia ,
Montana, Lom, Varshec and many others small towns in the region.
The northern slopes of Berkovski Balkan are famous for its chestnut
forests- one of the few natural fields for chestnuts in Bulgaria. The town
is a starting position for marked tourism routes in the Berkovski Balkan
range.
Kaleto is a forest hill (515) situated on the north- western part of
the town. It is a natural forest park and protects Berkovitsa from the
winds. Roman remains from medieval fortress are also situated in the site.
The site Ashkilar is a romantic place south of the town, reaching the
chestnut forests and is a great site for relaxation out in the nature. |
