Kotel

Kotel sits in a fold of the eastern Balkan and produced a remarkable number of the figures of the Bulgarian National Revival, among them Sofronii Vrachanski, Georgi Rakovski and Petar Beron, which is why the town has a pantheon holding their remains and monuments and a museum devoted to them. Most of the old town burned in 1894, but the Galata quarter survived with its timber houses and cobbled lanes. Kotel is also a carpet town: a distinct flat-weave tradition with strong geometric patterns in red and black is still worked here, and a carpet museum and workshops show it. The town is high enough to be cool in summer and it is a quiet place with few visitors.

History

Kotel was settled at the start of Ottoman rule by people fleeing the towns around it, and it first appears in an Ottoman register of 1486. Much of the town burned in a fire in 1894 (Wikipedia, Kotel, Bulgaria).

What to look for

• The Galata quarter - the timber houses that survived the 1894 fire.
• Kotel carpets - the flat-weave tradition still worked in the town.
• The pantheon - the memorial to the Revival figures born here.
• Carpet workshops - weaving shown and sold in the town.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. Museums close on some Mondays. It is quiet at most times and rarely crowded. Winters are cold and snowy at this altitude.

Before you go

Most of the old town was lost in the 1894 fire, so the historic quarter is small. Museums are modest. Carpets sold as local are sometimes not. The town is remote and public transport is limited.

Nearby

Zheravna is south; Sliven lies south.

Key facts