Botevgrad Public Holiday

On December 1 Botevgrad municipality celebrates its official public holiday. The first historical data about settlements in the region of Botevgrad dates back to 1-3 century. In the Middle ages, a village called Zeliln was formed in the area, which is nowadays some 3 km south of Botevgrad. Not far from the town, the last stronghold of the Second Bulgarian State – the Urvich fortress, is located, which preserves the only medieval Bulgarian inscription dedicated to the last battle of king Ivan Shishman. Later on, in the second half of VIII century, Zelin fell into decay and its inhabitants moved to the valley, where a settlement called Samundjievo was formed. On March 23 1866, the settlement was proclaimed a town and an administrative center of the region, and was renamed to Orhanie. After Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turkish yoke, the town grew, and on December 1 1934 it was renamed to Botevgrad, after the great Bulgarian revolutionary Hristo Botev.

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