Kazanlak – Rose Festival

Kazanlak municipality is located in the foot of Stara Planina, which is a part of the Rose valley, known for its beauty and fertility. In honour of the “queen” of all flowers, each year a Rose festival is organized in the town in the first week of June. It was celebrated for the first time in 1903. Back then, it was dedicated to beauty and charity. Nowadays, it is one of the most colourful events in the town, attracting both the local residents and tourists from all over the world. It is opened officially by the “King Sevt” and “Queen Rose” and ends with a carnival parade down the streets of the town. Kazanlak oleaginous rose and Kazanlak rose oil are Bulgaria’s first “visiting card” in front of the world. In XVIII and XIX century rose production was the basic means of living for the local population. In 1969, the first exposition “Kazanlak rose” was opened in the town’s Rose Institute, which later on became a separate section in the Iskra museum. Nowadays, Kazanlak has its own Rose museum, showing the development of rose production in Bulgaria, as well as of the trade of rose products since their early days.