The town of Svishtov has a population of 32 000 inhabitants and lies at a distance of 84 km northwest of Veliko Turnovo. The town is the administrative municipal centre of 15 component settlements. The town is located on the bank of the Danube River in its most southern point at an altitude of 100 m. It is the first Bulgarian town liberated in 1877 from the Russian army.

The region has been populated since ancient times. The Roman fortress Novаe was built at the site of a Thracian settlement in I c. Novаe is a significant strategic centre along the Danube River around which a settlement is formed. In III-IV c. the camp becomes a fortress for both civil and military people. During the Revival Period Svishtov is a cultural and economic centre. It is liberated on16th July 1877 and the Svishtov Province is founded.

The tourist sights of the town are: the history museum, the churches "Sveta Troitza'/The Holy Trinity/ (1867), "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" (1873), "St. St. Peter and Pavel" (1644), the clock tower from 1763, the museum of Aleko Konstantinov, the remains of the ancient town of Novаe, the oldest higher education school in Bulgaria, the Svishtov monastery "Uspenie Bogorodichno"/The Assumption/, the island of Vardim.

Svishtov is the birth place of the Revival Period artist Nikolay Pavlovich, the writer Aleko Konstantinov, the statesmen Dragan Tzankov and Grigor Nachkovich and Tzvetan Radoslavov - the author of the national anthem.

Tourist sights

The ancient town of Novаe is built at the sight of an ancient Thracian settlement. In 45 here originates a camp for the VIII Augustus legion and in 69 here comes the First Italian legion. The fortification is erected immediately next to the high Danube bank. At the end of III c. and the beginning of IV c. the military camp is transformed to a fortress town. Here have been discovered many statue pedestals, inscriptions, parts of bronze statues and coins. One of the rare sculpture portraits of the emperor Karakala (211-217) is also found here. One can see evidence of mass baptizing in Novae setting the beginning of Christianity along these lands.

The Great people's movement brings forth a change in the development of the ancient world. Numerous tribes appear and disappear. One of them is the Goths tribe. In 332 Emperor Konstantin the Great settles about 300 000 Goths along Mizia and Thrace. In 376 they obtain the statute of federates within the limits of the Roman Empire. So the Novae fortress becomes the centre of the Goths federates in the Roman Empire. In 391 Alarih I is chosen for a king of the Thracian Goths and in 35 he sets off with his troops to Rome to enter the world history as the first conqueror of Rome in 410. For almost 15 years the Goths ruler Teoderih the Great (456-526) governs Novae who becomes later on famous as the King of Ravena and enters the German mythology as Ditrih Fon Bern and the Norwegian mythology as Tidrik.

The church "Saint Troitza" /The Holy Trinity/ -is finished in 1867. It is built at the highest point of the town by the master-builder Kolyo Ficheto. The three-nave scheme is combined with a central dome on four columns. The icons of the church are painted by the talented artist Nikolay Pavlovich and the iconostasis is made by masters from Kalofer. The church's belfry is built in 1886. The earthquake of 1977 causes serious damages to the temple which is later restored in 1992.

The house of Aleko Konstantinov represents an exhibition related to the writer's life and works. Aleko Konstantinov is a famous Bulgarian short-story and feuilletons writer. He has created the most-famous satire image in the Bulgarian literature- Bay Ganyo. Aleko Konstantinv is also the founder of the organized tourism in Bulgaria. The museum is established in 1929.

The clock tower in Svishtov is built in 1763 and is 23 m high.