Presentation

Diva Hotel is located on the northern boundary of the Troyan mountain and the Vasilyovska mountain in the Beli Ossam river valley.  Suitable for full relaxation throughout the year. The recreation centre at the complex  makes it unique for the area of the Troyan mountain. It offers to its guests mud-curing, climate therapy,  spa treatment,  massaging and relaxation procedures, aromatherapy, as well as sport opportunities – workout, tennis, table tennis, snooker and rent-a-bike.  Guests can also relax in the two mineral pools with a water temperature of 34°С throughout the year.

Diva Hotel offers 38 twin rooms, 5 apartments and 2 maisonette-type apartments. They all have a new furnishing and feature TV, minibar and telephone. Operating to the guests comfort is a Deluxe restaurant with 110 seats, architecturally executed in two levels, a 60-seat BBQ and a Lobby bar.

Apart from relaxation in the mountain’s clear and serene atmosphere,  Diva Hotel is a suitable location for business events as well. The hotel features a conference hall with up to 80 seats, equipped with a screen, a flipchart. Additional technical equipment could be provided on request.

Prices

HOTEL “DIVA”

Rack Rates 01.01 – 30.11.2012

Gallery

Area

Troyan municipality is located in the northern foot of the Troyan-Kalofer section of Middle Stara Planina mountain, at 400 m. above sea level. It is 170 km to the north-east of Sofia, 120 km north of Plovdiv, and some 300 km to the west of Varna. The town developed along the terrace-like waterfronts of the Beli Ossam river. Some 25 000 peolple reside in Troyan, with the overall population in the municipality reaching 37 000 residents.

Troyan’s  geographic location favours good transport. Of particular importance is the nearby Troyan Pass, which replicates the ancient Roman road Via Traiana, which used to connect Moesia and the Thracian Sea. It is precisely this road that gave the town its name. The climate in the municipality is continental to mountainous. Spring is rainy, summer is cool, fall is sunny, and winter is mild.

Chiflik village is located along the uppermost river valley of Beli Ossam river, 15 km southwest of Troyan, to which it is linked via a bus line. The village features 200 houses and some 500 residents. People are employed in fruit-growing, cattle-breeding, woodworking and tourism. Chiflik is a unique resort offering opportunities for ecotourism, rural and spa tourism. This also the place of natural sites such as the Kozya Stena reservation with its famous Balkan edelweiss, the Kashka and Markova Livada cols, the rock wonders of Ushite, Sadranata Stena, Rogachevi Kamani.

The Beli Ossam river valley, which is made up of the tributaries Rogacheva, Kozyashtitsa, Gabrovshtitsa, etc., is all green – everything in the vicinity is covered by conifer and beech forests, and the crests of the Troyan mountain and the ridges are overgrown in lush pastures. Farming cultures characteristic of Chiflik are: raspberries, plums, and potatoes. The forests surrounding the village are swarming with game – deer, wild boars, birds. The climate is suitable for relaxation throughout the year – average January temperature is some 0-1 Сº, and the average July temperature is 20-21 Сº. Chiflik has a mineral water spring with water temperature of 50 Сº, low on minerals and curative for the locomotive system, neurological, abdominal, and dermatological conditions. Diva hotel has its own swimming pools and favourable conditions for physiotherapy and spa treatment.

The village sprang up in late 18th century as a neighbourhood of Beli Ossam village. It was founded by Bulgarians resettling from the western borderlands. Here in 1876 Todor Kableshkov and Nayden Popstoyanov were captured, and Gergi Tarnev from Plovdiv and Stefan Pochekov from Kazanlak were murdered, as well as Nikola Voinovski, the second-in-command of Botev’s party. There is a monument in the village in honour of the rebels. It is located directly opposite the inn where the insurgents stayed. Nowadays it features a museum exhibition. The Haydushka Pesen hut was built in the Stalba locality in memory of the insurgents. It is easily accessible throughout the year and is a starting point to the Kozya stena and Vasilyov Huts. From here one can also set off for the international pedestrian itinerary Kom peak – Emine cape.

Culture

The Troyan region is rich in cultural-historical monuments and museums, ethnographic expositions, ancient fortresses, and structures and churches dating back to the Bulgarian National Revival. It is among the few places in Bulgaria where crafts still survive. Generations of craftsmen work in the own workshops where you can witness the craftsmanship of wood-carvers, weavers, and coppersmiths.

Here are some of the more interesting places you could visit during your rest in the Troyan Balkan.

• Museum of national artistic crafts and applied arts – Troyan

The museum is located at the premises of the elementary school built in 1881 by Usta Gencho Kanev, a master builder from Tryavna. Years after, the building was restored and turned into a museum. It features in detail the national and artistic crafts characteristic of the Troyan area. The museum offers a very pleasant but even more interesting trip back into the time and lifestyle of Troyan and the area.

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday: 9 – 17 hrs.; Sunday – by prior request

Telephone: 0670/220 62, 220 63

• Vazrajdane Exposition

Located right next to the building of the Museum of national artistic crafts and applied arts and is hosted in the restored Turkish police station /1868/. The exposition traces the social-economical and cultural development of Troyan, public education, the guerrilla movement, and the operations of the revolutionary committee set up by Vassil Levski.

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday: 9 – 17 hrs.; Sunday – by prior request

Telephone: 0670/220 62, 220 63

• Seryakova Kashta picture gallery – Troyan

The Seryakova Kashta is the place where you can see the works of the Troyan painters. The home of Georgi Seryakov-Gio /an insurgent from Botev’s party, died 1876/ was declared a cultural monument of local significance and has since 1991 been operating as the town art gallery.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10 – 18 hrs.; Saturday: 10 – 13 hrs

Telephone: 0670/228 77

• St. Paraskeva Church – Troyan

Built in 1835 on the spot of an old chapel named St. Petka. It was burnt down in 1877 and was restored after the liberation owing to donations and aid from the Troyan monastery.

• Assumption of St. Mary monastery – Oreshak village

Located 10 km southeast of Troyan and is the third largest in Bulgaria, following the Rila monastery and the Bachkovski monastery. It is presumed that the Troyan monastery was founded back in the 13th – 14th cc. but the first written sources indicate that the monastery was found in circa 1600 by a hermit, who settled there. The monastery is known for its miracle-working icon of St. Mary the Triple-Handed. Today’s monastery church is a distinguished monument of Bulgarian church architecture. It was built in 1835 in just 6 months with donations from the local population. The entire church and the circular gallery are covered with the incredibly beautiful mural paintings of Zaharii Zograph. Also impressive is the woodcut iconostasis and the icons in the church are also genuine works of art. During the Bulgarian National Revival the Troyan monastery was a hub of literary activity and supported publication of numerous liturgical books, which may be seen to this day in the monastery library. You can also see here Vassil Levski’s hideaway. You may look at a Troyan living room from the period of the Bulgarian National Revival, King Boris ІІІ’s chamber, the plentiful collection of church plates and other gifts. The monastery’s celebration is on August 15 – Assumption of St. Mary. This is also the date of the large Troyan fair, which originated back in the time of the Bulgarian National Revival.

Opening hours: The monastery is open for visiting every day

• National exhibition of artistic crafts and the arts – Oreshak village

Immediately next to the monastery, the National Exhibition of Artistic Crafts /established in 1971/ is located in Oreshak village on an area of 4 000 sq. m. and is divided into 9 rooms. You may see how the renowned Troyan plum brandy is distilled and taste it, you may also be shown the subtleties of some of the local crafts (pottery-making, woodcarving, weaving/. The exhibition operates year-round.

Opening hours: Monday – Sunday: 9 – 17:30 hrs.

• Natural Science Museum – Cherni Ossam village

Just 2 km from Oreshak and 12 km from Troyan, the Natural Science Museum is located in the Cherni Ossam. The museum rooms feature more than 1200 exhibits – samples from all animal species inhabiting the Central Stara Planina Mountain. Opening hours:

Monday – Sunday: 8 – 17 hrs.

Telephone: 06962 / 371

• Photo Archive Collection in Cherni Ossam village

This is actually a sort of ethnographic museum set up by Docho Neshkov. It presents the cultural-historical and natural heritage of Cherni Ossam village. For visits, please call:

Town-hall – Cherni Ossam village 06962 / 233; 533

Reading club – Cherni Ossam village 06962 / 535

• St. John the Forerunner monastery in Zelenikovo locality – Cherni Ossam village

Located in the Cherni Ossam village, in the Zelenikovets locality, some 10 km from the Troyan monastery. The chapel is associated with the Bogomils and the party of Phillip Totyu. In 1876 Turkish troops burnt the chapel down. Now the monastery has bed for overnight stays.

• Ascension of Jesus church – Shipkovo village

The church was built by local master builders and master builders from Tryavna. It was built from cut stone, without a dome and a cross on the rooftop. The oldest icon dates back to 1770, there are also icons made by Zaharii Zograph, by masters from the Tryavna school, by the Tryavna master Pencho H. Naydenov. This is where Sofroni Vrachanski’s Nedelnik from 1806 is stored.

• Freedom arc

The monument is located atop the Goraltepe peak, which is 15 minutes walking distance east of the highest spot of the Beklemeto Pass.

• Via Traiana

Two thousand years ago Roman legions treaded here – the old Roman road called Via Traiana (Via Traiana) named after the Roman emperor Traianus, who was famous for his construction enterprises, is in good shape even today, and has the best preserved Roman stone road surface in the entire Bulgaria. For the most par, the Troyan Pass is winding along the remains of Via Traiana.

Nature

The Troyan are features a magnificent combination of nature and weather conditions offering wonderful opportunities for tourism, spa treatment, sports, and entertainment. Lovers of nature have countless opportunities to reach all picturesque nooks and corners оf the Central Stara Planina mountain. Whether on foot, on ski, on horseback, or bike, with or without a guide, you can roam through dozens of forest paths, see from afar a deer, an eagle, or any other of the endangered animal species inhabiting this area; you can enjoy the edelweiss, go fishing, relax under the shades of centuries old oaks, or in any of the numerous mineral springs.

The plentiful precipitation, the geological and relief specifics are the reason for the existence of many and diverse, in both size and beauty, caves and precipices in the Troyan Balkan, and more specifically in the Steneto reservation

• Central Balkan mountain national park

A part of the Troyan area is taken up by the Central Balkan mountain national park. It is one of the largest European parks. It was established in 1991 in order to preserve the unique nature of the Central Stara Planina mountain

• Kozya Stena reservation

The Kozya Stena reservation was declared as such in 1987. It is located within the lands of the Chiflik village, Troyan areal, west of the Troyan-Karnare Pass. It takes an hour to reach on the international pedestrian itinerary Kom peak – Emine cape /E-3/ from Beklemeto to the Kozya Stena hut. It is located in a steep, limestone part of the mountain of difficult access. Kozya Stena is a genuine botanical paradise.

• Vasilyovska mountain

The Vasilyovska mountain is the highest part of the foothills of the Balkan mountain. Its hub is the Vasilyov peak (1490 m)

• Steneto reervation

The Steneto reservation was established in 1979. Located in the springing part of the Cherni Ossam river. A part of the reservation is located on the southern part of the main Stara Planina mountain ridge – the localities of Ibche Dere, Kasiat Chamlak, Jaffer Dere, Kobilin Dol. It was founded in order to preserve the naturalness of the magnificent Steneto gorge. It was incorporated in UNESCO’s program Man and Biosphere. Steneto is the largest variety of forest and rock birds on the Balkan peninsula.

Celebrations

• On Midsummer’s Day the Day of Herbs, Mountain, and Tourism is celebrated. A celebration of the contact of man with nature is organized in the Gabareto locality near Balkanets village, herbs are picked, and all this combined with merriment and competitions.

• On August 15 – Virgin Mary’s Day – the Troyan monastery’s patron’s day is celebrated. A procession is made with the miracle-working icon of St. Mary the Triple-Handed. On this day Virgin Mary is honoured as a patron of women, motherhood, and family hearth. Ritual bread is consecrated in the church. Boiled wheat, corn, boiled pumpkin, and fresh fruit are put on the table. A traditional fair is also held near the Troyan monastery on Virgin Mary’s Day.

• One day is specially dedicated to the plum brandy – the Plum celebration, the Troyan plum brandy is distilled on each last Friday of September in Troyan’s town square. This is a unique celebration for Bulgaria aiming to promote the local lifestyle and customs. Distillation and sampling of unlimited amounts of plum brandy takes place.

• Petkovden /October 14/ is Troyan’s holiday. This day is associated with St. Petka Espivatska, the town’s celestial guardian.

• The St. Spiridon day, Guardian of craftsmen /December 12/ is honoured as the Popular Master’s holiday.

• In early June, the Raspberry Days are held in the Shipkovo village where raspberry breeding is a traditional means of livelihood.

• The Kableshkov celebrations are held in Chiflik village in June. This when the heroes of the April Uprising are celebrated in order to preserve the historical memory and maintain the relations between the Bulgarian National Revival age towns of Troyan and Koprivshtitsa. In late July, the traditional Ceramics Art Planner is held in Troyan gathering ceramics painters from the country and overseas.

Transportation

You can reach Troyan by car or bus. The bus lines to and from Sofia travel each day. There are also buses to Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Lovech, Pleven, etc. Regular bus routes connect Troyan with the villages in the area: Shipkovo, Chiflika, Beli Ossam, Cherni Ossam, Oreshaka, Gumoshtnik, Balkanets, and the Beklemeto locality.