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 Macedo ...

n town situated at the northern foot of the Balkan Mountains in

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, a tributary to the

Yantra River The Yantra ( bg, Янтра ) is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long (the third longest Bulgarian tributary of the Danube, after Iskar and Osam), and has a watershed of . Its average discharge at the mouth ...

. The town is a centre of the homonymous Dryanovo Municipality, 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 internatio ...

, 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 Tryavna ( bg, Трявна ) is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the northern slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring ...

and about 30 km away from

Sevlievo Sevlievo ( bg, Севлиево ) 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 employment rate and major foreign inve ...

. The town lies on the

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

- Shipka-

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 ...

- Stara Zagora 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 were discovered in the area, proofs of human presence from the Paleolithic were discovered in Bacho Kiro cave 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 ...

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 lette ...

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 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 Ficheto, ...

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 Dryanovo Heights (''Dryanovski Vazvisheniya'' \'drya-nov-ski v&-zvi-'she-ni-ya\) The ice-covered heights rising to 520 m in the northwest part of Greenwich Island. Extending 13 km in northwest-southeast direction, and 7 km in northeast ...

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 1 ...

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 cont ...

is named after Dryanovo.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Dryanovo is twinned with: *

Bykhaw Bykhaw ( be, Бы́хаў, Łacinka: ''Bychaŭ'', ) or Bykhov (russian: Бы́хов, pl, Bychów, yi, italic=yes, Bihov, , lt, Bychavas) is a town in the eastern Belarusian Mogilev Region. It is located 44 km south of Mogilev (M on the D ...

, Belarus * Itamos, Greece *

Kavarna Kavarna ( bg, Каварна ; ro, Cavarna), is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Dobruja region of northeastern Bulgaria. It lies northeast of Varna, from Dobrich on the international road E87 and south of the border with R ...

, Bulgaria * Borgia, Italy *

Rocca Imperiale Rocca Imperiale is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Rocca Imperiale is located in the middle of the arc that surrounds the Gulf of Taranto and sits 4 km away from the sea on a hill at t ...

, 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 Ma'ale Adumim ( he, מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים; ar, معالي أدوميم) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. ...

, Israeli settlement 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