The town of Sevlievo has a population of 24 000 inhabitants and lies at a distance of 28 km northwest of Gabrovo. Sevlievo is a municipal centre of 52 component settlements. The town is situated in the valley of the Rositza River at an altitude of 390 m.

In the region of the town there are findings from the Neolith, the eneolith, Thracian tomb-mounds and a medieval settlement. The town is mentioned for the first time under the name of Selvi in the middle of XIV c. The settlement has been established in X-XI c. as a satellite settlement to the fortress Hotalich, which is demolished in XIV c. during the invasion of the Turks. During the Ottoman yoke the town is the centre of a district with well-developed woodworking, leather manufacturing and spinning.

Sevlievo is the home town of the poetess Mara Belcheva, the writer Fani Popova-Mutafova, the sculptor Asen Peykov, who has created the sculpture of Leonardo Da Vinci on the international airport of Rome.

The village of Sennik at a distance of 7 km from Sevlievo is the birth place of the famous Bulgarian Dan Kolov. He has a diamond belt in free style wrestling.

The tourist sights of the region are: the clock tower (1779), the churches "St. Iliya" with a precious wood-carved iconostasis(1834), "Sveta Troitza/Holy Trinity/ (1870, Hadzhistoyanov's school (1844), the Tabahana - a restored leather-manufacturing workshop, the stone bridge over the Rositza River (1858), the Dandolov's houses, the monument of liberty, remains of the Hotalich fortress and the Batoshevo monastery. Gorna Rositza -one of the biggest driving test areas is situated at a distance of 8 km from the town.

Tourist sights

The Dandolov's houses is an architectural-ethnographic complex. The building is built in 1870 and is restored in 1871. It is a unique building in which under one roof there are three houses with a workshop and a shop.

The Monument of Liberty in Sevlievo is made by Arnaldo Dzoki. It is placed on an authentic column from the ancient town Nikopolis ad Istrum. The monument is built in 1894.

The stone bridge is built by the master builder Kolyo Ficheto. It is built during 1857-1858. In 1940 the bridge is reconstructed.

The clock tower in Sevlievo is built in 1777. It is 18 m. high.

The medieval fortress Hotalich lies at a distance of 4 km from the town. It has been erected about X c. over the foundations of an early Byzantine fortress. Some of the stone walls, the defense towers, gates, houses, a church and other buildings are preserved.

The Dan Kolov's house in the village of Sennik is at a distance of 7 km from Sevlievo. Dancho Kolev Danev is a world-famous free-style wrestling competitor. He has lived in the USA from 1905-1935 where he is known as Dan Kolov. In his sports' career he has 1 500 official wrestling games of which only 10 are losses. He is a European champion in Paris from 1936 and 1937 and the owner of the titles "European Belt" and "World Belt". His grave is in the yard of the church in the village of Sennik.

The Batoshevo monk monastery in the village of Batoshevo is founded in 1250 by king Mihail Asen. After the fall of Bulgaria under the Ottoman yoke the monastery has been demolished. It is later restored in the second half of XIX c. with donations from the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. The construction of the church has begun in 1836. It is a three-dome church with wood-carved iconostasis with icons from the Tryavna's art school. The monastery has been an educational centre during the Revival period. Prominent Bulgarian public figures such as Bacho Kiro and Matey Preobrazhenski are associated with the monastery's educational work.