Shipka Pass ( bg, Шипченски проход, ) (el. 1150 m./3820 ft.) is a scenic mountain pass through the Balkan Mountains in

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 ...

. It marks the border between Stara Zagora province and

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 ...

. The pass connects the towns of

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 internatio ...

and

Kazanlak Kazanlak ( bg, Казанлък , Thracian and Greek Σευθόπολις (''Seuthopolis''), tr, Kazanlık) is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountai ...

. The pass is part of the

Bulgarka Nature Park The Bulgarka Natural Park ( Bulgarian: Природен парк ″Българка″) is a Bulgarian nature park on the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina), occupying 22,000 hectares of territory in the central and eastern ...

. The pass is 13 km by road north of the small town of

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 ...

. It is crossed by a national road I-5, which runs between

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...

, on the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, and

Makaza Makaza ( bg, Маказа, gr, Μακάζα), previously also known as Balkan Toresi, is a mountain pass in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, connecting southernmost central Bulgaria with north-easternmost Greece and thus the regions of Northern an ...

border crossing to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. A road also leads from the pass to the summit of

Buzludzha Buzludzha ( bg, Бузлуджа ) is a historical peak in the Central Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria. The mountain is located to the east of the Shipka Pass near the town of Kazanlak and is a site of historical importance. The peak is high. It was ...

, 12 km to the east.

Battle of Shipka Pass

During the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

in 1877 and 1878, Shipka Pass was the scene of a series of conflicts collectively named the

Battle of Shipka Pass The Battle of Shipka Pass consisted of four battles that were fought between the Russian Empire, aided by Bulgarian volunteers known as opalchentsi, and the Ottoman Empire for control over the vital Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War (18 ...

, fought between the Russians, aided by Bulgarian volunteers, and 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) ...

Shipka Monument

It was opened with a ceremony in 1934 and designed by architect Atanas Donkov and sculptor Aleksandar Andreev. An important influence was the

Monument to the Battle of the Nations The Monument to the Battle of the Nations (german: Völkerschlachtdenkmal, sometimes shortened to ''Völki'' or ''Schlachti'') is a monument in Leipzig, Germany, to the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations. Paid for mo ...

in Germany. The monument is a 31.5-metre (98-foot) high stone tower in the form of a truncated pyramid. A giant bronze lion, 8 m (26 feet) long and 4 m (13 feet) high, stands above the entrance to the tower, and a figure of a woman represents the victory over the Ottoman forces. A marble

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

housing some of the remains of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n and Bulgarian casualties is on the first floor. There are four other floors where one can find replicas of Bulgarian military flags and other relics. The top of the tower reveals a panorama of Shipka Peak and the surrounding area.

Gallery

File:Shipka-01.JPG File:Shipka-02.JPG File:Shipka-03.JPG File:Shipka-04.JPG File:Shipka pass (Шипка) - central Monument.JPG File:Shipka2.jpg File:Bulgaria Shipka-03.JPG File:Kazanlak, Bulgaria - panoramio.jpg File:Bulgaria Shipka-04.JPG File:Bulgaria Shipka-05.JPG File:Bulgaria Shipka-06.JPG File:Shipka.JPG File:Shipka Memorial - interior.JPG, Sarcophagus File:Паметникът на свободата на връх Шипка 12.jpg

References

External links

Shipka museum official web site - Bulgarian Ministry of Culture.
{{Coord, 42, 46, N, 25, 19, E, region:BG_type:pass, display=title Mountain passes of Bulgaria Balkan mountains Landforms of Stara Zagora Province Landforms of Gabrovo Province Tourist attractions in Stara Zagora Province Tourist attractions in Gabrovo Province

Battle of Shipka Pass

Shipka Monument

Gallery

See also

References

External links