Welcome to Belogradchik!
Belograchik is a town in northwestern Bulgaria in the Vidin Province. Belogradchik, which literally means "small white town", is situated in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains just east of the Serbian border and about 50 km south of the Danube River. The town is famous for its unique and impressive rock formations, the Belogradchik Rocks, which cover an area of 90 square kilometers and reach up to 200 meters in height. The town is a popular tourist destination. Important landmarks are the mediaeval Belogradchik Fortress and the Belogradchik Rocks.
The Belogradchik Fortress
The Belogradchik Fortress (Belogradchiska krepost), also known as Kaleto ("the fortress" from Turkish kale), is an ancient fortress close to the northwestern Bulgarian town of Belogradchik and the town's primary cultural and historical tourist attraction, drawing, together with the Belogradchik Rocks, the main flow of tourists into the region. It is one of the best-preserved strongholds in Bulgaria and a cultural monument of national importance.
The fortress' walls are over 2 m thick in the foundation and reaching up to 12 m in height. Three separate fortified yards exist that are connected with each other through gates. The fortress has a total area of 10,210 m2. The Belogradchik Fortress was reconstructed to later become a proclaimed cultural monument. It is managed by the local historical museum authority.
The initial fortress was constructed during the time when the region was part of the Roman Empire. The rock formations in the area served as a natural protection, as fortified walls were practically only built from the northwest and southeast, with the yard being surrounded by rocks up to 70 metres high from the other sides.
Initially, the Belogradchik Fortress served for surveillance and not strictly defence. Bulgarian tsar of Vidin Ivan Stratsimir extended the old fortress in the 14th century, building fortified garrisons before the existing rock massifs. During Stratsimir's rule, the Belogradchik Fortress became one of the most important strongholds in the region, second only to the tsar's capital fortress of Vidin, Baba Vida.
During the Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria, the fortress was captured by the Ottomans in 1396. They were forced to further expand the stronghold due to the intensified hajduk and insurrectionary activity in the region.
Considerable changes to the fortress were made in the early 19th century. These changed were typical for the Ottoman castle architecture of the period, a full reorganization being carried out, as well as additional expansion. Typically European elements were added to the Belogradchik Fortress owing to the French and Italian engineers that participated in the expansion.
The stronghold had an important role in the Ottoman suppression of the Bulgarian Belogradchik Uprising of 1850. It was last used in warfare during the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885.
The Belogradchik Rocks
The Belogradchik Rocks (Belogradchishki skali) are a group of bizarre sandstone and limestone rock formations, reaching up to 200 m in height. They form a strip, which is 30 km long and up to 3 km wide, and are located north of the western slopes of Stara Planina, near the town of Belogradchik in Bulgaria. The formations are a product of erosion.
The rocks were declared a natural landmark in 1949 and consist of four independent groups. Every distinct rock is named after an object it is believed to resemble and the formations vary from red through yellow to grey in colour.
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