Gradishteto

The Gradishteto area is located on the territory of the town of Malko Tarnovo. It has been declared as such by order 1427, issued on 13 May 1974, with the ultimate objective to preserve the only deposit of blue juniper growing in the highest part of the Bulgarian Strandja Mountain. The picturesque surrounding country has attracted ancient dwellers around these lands. Remains of an ancient settlement have been discovered on the territory of Gradishteto. A Thracian mound necropolis has been found in the southern part. A Thracian and late-antique fortress has been unveiled in the southeastern part, in the region of Kungyov Grob. The fortress is rising on a high hill, on the left bank of the Mladejka river. According to specialists, the inscriptions found in the region of the settlement proved the existence of sanctuaries of the gods Zeus and Herra and Heraclus.