Dryanovo ( bg, Дряново, ) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n town situated at the northern foot of the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...

Gabrovo Province Gabrovo Province ( bg, Област Габрово (Oblast Gabrovo), former name Gabrovo okrug) is a small province lying at the geographical centre of Bulgaria. It is named after its main town - Gabrovo. In 2009 the total population of the are ...

; amphitheatrically along the two banks of

Dryanovo River The Dryanovo ( bg, Дряновска река) is a river in Bulgaria, in Gabrovo Province and Veliko Tarnovo Province, a tributary of the Belitsa from the basin of the Yantra, flowing into the Danube). It issues from the mountains close to the ...

, a tributary to the Yantra River. The town is a centre of the homonymous

Dryanovo Municipality Dryanovo (or Drjanovo) Municipality ( bg, Община Дряново) is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Gabrovo Province, North-central Bulgaria, located in the area of the so-called Fore-Balkan between Stara planina mountain and the Danubia ...

, which is composed of 62 villages, hamlets and huts picturesquely spread out of the mountain folds. As of 2015, it has a population of 7,968. In 2009, it was 8,043.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009

Geography

Dryanovo has a favourable geographical position, being situated 20 km away from

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internationa ...

, 24 km from

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

, 17 km from Tryavna and about 30 km away from

Sevlievo Sevlievo ( bg, Севлиево ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in north-central Bulgaria, part of Gabrovo Province. Sevlievo is known as one of the wealthiest towns in Bulgaria owing to the well developed local economy, high em ...

. The town lies on the Rousse-

Shipka Shipka may refer to: * Shipka Monument, in Bulgaria * Shipka (town), in Bulgaria * Shipka Pass, in Bulgaria * Shipka (stadium), in Asenovgrad, Bulgaria * Shipka Saddle, in the Tangra Mountains, Livingston Island, Antarctica * Shipka Valley, in the T ...

- Kazanlak-

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

highway and it is a station of the main railway thoroughfare, which links the north and the south part of

History

Like all Balkan mountain settlements, Dryanovo reached its bloom at the time of the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

. In 1883 it was proclaimed a town. Masons and woodcarvers spread the fame of the town throughout Bulgaria and far away in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The oldest traces of life on

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

were discovered in the area, proofs of human presence from the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

were discovered in

Bacho Kiro cave The Bacho Kiro cave () is situated west of the town Dryanovo, Bulgaria, only away from the Dryanovo Monastery. It is embedded in the canyons of the Andaka and Dryanovo River. It was opened in 1890 and the first recreational visitors entered the ...

near

Dryanovo monastery The Dryanovo Monastery ( bg, Дряновски манастир, ''Dryanovski manastir'', ) is a functioning Bulgarian Orthodox monastery situated in the Andaka River Valley, in Bulgarka Nature Park in the central part of Bulgaria five kilometer ...

, situated in the Andaka river valley. Numerous relics of ancient villages, fortresses, pillars with inscriptions and ornaments from

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times (Boruna and Diskoduratera fortresses) were discovered there. Dryanovo is sometimes referred to as "a town of

centenarians A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centen ...

" for the healthy climatic conditions prolonging people's life. The town is also known as the birthplace of the renowned architect

Kolyu Ficheto Nikola Fichev ( bg, Никола Фичев) (1800 Dryanovo, Direnova, Ottoman Empire - 1881 Veliko Tarnovo, Principality of Bulgaria), commonly known as Kolyo Ficheto ( bg, Колю Фичето) or with his Turkish honorific Usta (Master) Kolyo ...

Museums

The Kolyu Ficheto Museum
- the museum is located in the Eastern part of town, on Kolyu Ficheto square. Right next to its entrance, there is a large bronze statue made by

n artist Boris Gondov, which is dedicated to architect

, or ''The Master'' as he was also popular. The museum hosts a permanent exposition named "Kolyu Ficheto - life and art", comprised by different documents and artifacts related to ''The Master'': building plans, pictures from old archives and new ones, tools from the period when he was active, as well as some personal belongings among others. * In th
Dryanovo History Museum
you can enjoy several expositions such as "Urban manners from the end of 19th and the beginning 20th century", which can be seen in the Lafchieva and Perevi historic buildings; "Icons and church carpentry from the Dryanovo region, from 17th to 19th century", located in the town's official art gallery; and "Archaeology and the National Revival", exposed in the

Honours

Dryanovo Heights on

Greenwich Island Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The name Greenwic ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Dryanovo.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Dryanovo is twinned with: * Bykhaw, Belarus *

Itamos Itamos ( el, Ίταμος) is a former municipality in the Karditsa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Karditsa Karditsa ( el, Καρδίτσα ) is a city in western Thessaly ...

, Greece * Kavarna, Bulgaria *

Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

, Italy * Rocca Imperiale, Italy * Bocholt, Belgium *

Radoviš Radoviš ( mk, Радовиш ) is a city in the southeastern part of North Macedonia. It is the second largest city in the southeastern region. The city is the seat of Radoviš Municipality, which is spread on the bottom of Plačkovica Mountai ...

, North Macedonia * Ma'ale Adumim,

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

References

Guide-Bulgaria.com

External links

Tourist information and accommodation

Dryanovo tourism website

Dryanovo municipality website

Dryanovo informative publication

Tourist information about Bulgaria

Dryanovo on youtube
{{Authority control Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Gabrovo Province